Yugioh! Spirits of the Trinity
by aroramage
Summary: A mysterious invitation, a grandiose tournament, an imposing threat, an evil that transcends time, a secret organization, and a series of mystical dragons. The greatest adventure of a lifetime begins! Rated K for now, but later on may end up being Rated T
1. Prologue & Invitation

Hello all faithful readers! I'm really excited to introduce this story to you all. It's one that's been part of my family for years, technically speaking. My brother and I liked to play around with our Yugioh! cards as though we were in the Yuniversoh!, and this story comes around as part of a major plotline that we favored towards. My brother was the originator of this story, and I'm merely writing it down and submitting it out to you all for your own enjoyment. So here at last, I introduce you all to Yugioh! Spirits of the Trinity!

* * *

Prologue

3000 years ago...

The crowds had gathered into the courtyard of the palace in Babylon. Many had heard that great news was to be declared, a new chapter in the great history of their nation was to be opened, a new era given birth.

The king walked out onto the balcony overlooking his people, each of his advisors by his side. One held a stone tablet etched with decorative carvings and a long list of words. As the three approached the balcony's edge, the advisor held up the tablet above his head and the crowds hushed to look up to their king. Thus the king began his speech:

"When Anu the Sublime, King of the Anunaki, and Bel, the lord of Heaven and earth, who decreed the fate of the land, assigned to Marduk, the over-ruling son of Ea, God of righteousness, dominion over earthly man, and made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by his illustrious name, made it great on earth, and founded an everlasting kingdom in it, whose foundations are laid so solidly as those of heaven and earth; then Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind..."

The king continued onwards while the masses looked up in awe at their great leader. All except for three.

Anshar, Anatu, and Sibi stood behind the columns near the courtyard, listening to the king's speech. While many of the Babylonians admired and respected the king, they did not. They had known for a long time that the king was going to implement what they saw as limitations on their freedoms. And they did not approve.

"...and brought about the well-being of the oppressed."

The king had finished his introduction, much to the crowd's shouted approvals of, "All hail Hammurabi," and, "Long live the king!" The advisor that had held the tablet now brought it down and faced the king so that they could be read. The king briefly cleared his throat and began reading off the newfound code.

And the three stood by. And they watched. And they waited.

"If any one ensnare another, putting a ban upon him, but he can not prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death..."

* * *

Chapter 1: An Invitation

"Grandpa, I'm home!"

It was yet another typical day for Yugi Muto, returning to his home from school, the Millennium Puzzle swinging around his neck, accompanied by his friends Joey, Tea, and Tristan. Grandpa was just outside the game shop sweeping the walkway as usual.

"Welcome back, Yugi," Grandpa said. "Have a good day at school?"

"Yep," Yugi answered.

"Yo Yug!" Joey piped in. "We should hit da arcade sometime! I'm getting rusty on my gaming skills."

"Been hitting the card games a little hard, eh Joey?" Tristan smirked.

"Man, I wish," Joey sneered. "Dere hasn't been a tournament for a while now."

"I don't think there's been one since the Grand Prix Kaiba held," Yugi noted.

"I wonder what's been keeping everyone," Joey wondered aloud.

"Oh by the way, Yugi," Grandpa said, "there's a package for you sitting on the counter there in the shop."

"Really? From who?" Yugi asked, but Grandpa merely shrugged and continued to sweep the steps.

Inside the Kame Game Shop, Yugi grabbed the package and headed upstairs into the small living room area, his friends right behind him. The package itself was a simple cardboard box, and when Yugi opened the package, he found a disc to be played, a small envelope with his name written on it, and a shiny crimson medallion with a dragon etched into it.

"What's all dis?" Joey asked, looking at all the various materials.

"I think it's an invitation," Yugi replied, opening the envelope. Inside were a set of instructions, the first of which read, "Play disc."

Placing the disc into the player, Yugi waited for the message to play out onscreen. At first, the screen was blank. Then, an image of a young man with brown hair and brown eyes appeared, a sharp expression on his face.

"Greetings, Yugi Muto," he said. "I am Matt Zero, and I wish to say what an honor it is to know of a duelist such as yourself.

"In fact, there are many duelists in the world that I'm honored to know, and I believe there is only one way of deciding the best of the best among all duelists. Of course, you are the reigning champion of Duel Monsters, and it would be more than a pleasure to have you compete in my tournament: the Battle of the Titans!

"I have already sent invitations over to your fellow duelists, Joseph Wheeler and Seto Kaiba, in the hopes that all of you will participate in the Battle of the Titans tournament. Included within each of your invitations is a medallion; make sure to hold onto it, as it is very important for the tournament. I hope to see you all at the docks at the appointed time on the date indicated in the instructions. Good luck to you all."

After that, the screen went black once more. Yugi turned his attention to the envelope while Joey, catching word of his own invitation, eagerly - or rather, overeagerly - leapt up onto the coffee table and yelped, "Alright! Finally, Joey Wheeler gets some action!"

"That probably isn't the way you want to introduce yourself, ya know," Tristan smirked, to which Joey replied with an airborne tackle, and the two began to wrestle on the floor. Meanwhile, Tea headed over to Yugi who had already opened the envelope and was reading through the instructions.

"It says to meet at the docks in about a week," Yugi noted, "and to bring the medallion along, as it's the entry ticket. I wonder what's going to be the big prize of this tournament?"

"Are you thinking of going, Yugi?" Tea asked.

"I don't know," Yugi replied. "There's not really a whole lot I'd want right now honestly."

"Hey, what's this?" Tea said, picking up a small piece of folded paper from off the ground nearby. She handed it over to Yugi, who unwrapped it to reveal another note, this one handwritten.

"To Yugi,

I understand this is a lot to ask, but I request you bring the Egyptian God cards with you when you come to the docks. I'll explain as soon as you arrive in my office.

Sincerely,

Matt Zero"


	2. The Docks

Chapter 2: The Docks

After the allotted time passed, Yugi, Joey, and the others all arrived at the pier to the crowd of thousands. For the past week, the two had dueled each other and tweaked their decks for the tournament as best as they could, with some advice from Yugi's grandfather and a couple of new cards to throw in.

Joey had in the meanwhile received his own package and gotten his own medallion for the tournament which allowed for him to participate as well. Yugi couldn't help but think back to Duelist Kingdom when both of them each started out with only one Star Chip each and managed to work their way up to the finals. Of course, they were fighting for something back then too. Now it just seemed like a regular tournament.

"Man, dere sure are a lot of duelists around," Joey said.

"I'm surprised we haven't already run into someone we know," Tristan pointed out.

"Knowing our luck, we probably will too," Yugi added.

"Are you sure about this?"

Yugi looked up to find the ethereal body of his friend, Yami the Nameless Pharaoh. His arms were crossed as they usually were.

"I know this is a lot to ask for, Pharaoh," Yugi said, "but I really want to know what this Matt guy's intentions are for the cards."

"Yugi, the Egyptian Gods are too vital to retrieving my memories to just take to someone we hardly know," Yami pointed out. It was true though; the Egyptian Gods cards, aside from being the most powerful monsters ever created, were also the only link to the Pharaoh's lost memories. Without them, they might never be recovered.

Yugi lowered his head. "I know that," he said, knowing that Yami would never let the keys to his memories slip away so easily. After all, it wasn't just Matt they would need to worry about; there were probably thousands of duelists out there who would love to get their hands on the Egyptian Gods.

"We shouldn't have put the God Cards at such risk," Yami said, reaching out and placing his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I know you want to know what he wants with them, but I can't allow for them to be exposed. I want your word that the Gods will play no part in the tournament."

Yugi looked up at Yami and nodded. "I promise."

With that, Yami faded away back into Yugi's memory.

"Attention duelists," a speaker voice announced, "the ships headed for the Battle of the Titans tournament will be departing shortly. Please present your medallions to our personnel as you board to make sure things run smoothly for the ride."

"I guess that means things are finally starting," Yugi said.

"You bet," Joey said. "Let's give it our all, Yug!"

The two headed towards the nearest boat and revealed their medallions to the others. Tea and Tristan attempted to follow them on board but were stopped by the security.

"Sorry, only those with medallions are allowed on board," one of the guards stated.

"Uh, yeah, well, we're with those guys over there," Tristan said, "so, uh, if you wouldn't mind-"

"It's alright, guys. I'm sure a couple more people couldn't hurt the buffet tables."

From behind Tea and Tristan appeared a young duelist with shaggy brown hair and a scrawny bit of chin hair wearing a brown jacket. The security seemed to acknowledge this particular individual and stepped aside. Tea and Tristan followed him over to Yugi and Joey.

"Thanks for helping us out back there," Tea said, bowing a little.

"No prob, really," the man said. "It's the least I can do for Yugi's friends."

"You seemed to be familiar with those guards over there," Yugi noted.

"Well, kinda," the man said. "But that's just cause I know how to work a guard, ya know?"

Joey eyed the man for a moment before holding out his hand and saying, "Well, it's good to meet ya anyway..."

"Andrew," he said, shaking Joey's hand. "I'm just another duelist same as you guys."

"Is that so?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah," Andrew replied. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get me some grub! Catch ya later!"

And with that he headed off down the side of the ship.

"What an interesting fellow," Tristan noted.

"I dunno," Joey said. "Something about him seems kinda fishy."

"Don't be ridiculous," Tea said.

"I just got a weird vibe from him, dat's all," Joey replied, shrugging his shoulders. "But den again, he does have da right idea. Let's go grab some food!"

"Can't duel on an empty stomach, can you?" Tristan asked jokingly.

"Last one dere's a rotten egg!" Joey yelped, and he took off in the direction Andrew had gone only a few minutes earlier. Meanwhile, the speakers came on once again saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time. We sail for the Battle of the Titans tournament!


	3. The Request

Chapter 3: A Special Request

"_...you sure about this? After all, you're asking a lot out of him...I understand, yeah, it's just...I'm not sure if he'll be willing to go along with it...yeah, even with the security...why do you want them anyway? I mean, he'd probably just win them back anyway...alright, fine, I'll just keep an eye on things..."_

It was a long boat ride over to the shores of the island, but everyone was excited for what was on the island. It felt like Duelist Kingdom all over again for Yugi and Joey, granted with less soul stealing and more card games. It was time for things to get serious.

They had run into Andrew again over at dinner, and they all hung out for awhile before Andrew retired for the night. Overall, he seemed like a nice guy, though he had never officially participated in a tournament before. Interestingly, he seemed to know a lot about the tournament itself.

"I made sure to check up on the rules beforehand," he said. "For the most part, things are gonna be pretty simple within the first round, but later on we'll be seeing more of a classical tournament set-up."

For the most part, he said, it would be similar to Battle City, granted with an extra rule or two, and he knew that the host would talk about the rules in greater detail when they arrived. After that, it would simply be dueling here and there.

"I think it'll be fun!" he exclaimed at one point.

Now, here they were at the pier of the island. It was very beautiful with lots of tropical plants growing all around. One could practically breathe in the nature surrounding them. A sort of calmness and tranquility radiated from the island as they all departed from the boat. Yugi and Joey had just begun to depart from the boat when they were stopped by the security.

"Yugi Muto?" one of the guards asked.

"Yeah, that's me," Yugi replied.

"Come with us," the guard said. "Mr. Zero has requested your presence immediately. Your friends may come as well."

Yugi looked back at the others. Joey simply shrugged, and the three followed Yugi and the guards down a path towards one very large tower of stone.

Inside, the group walked through an extravagant lobby that seemed made for royalty over to an elevator summoned for them. The group rode all the way up to the top floor, with Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan looking out through the glass to see the island beneath them become more and more splendorous the higher they rose. Finally, the elevator doors opened up, and the party headed towards the giant double doors straight in front of them.

Beyond the doors was an elegant and spacious office with a very wide window overlooking the other side of the island. Behind the desk sat Matt Zero, working away at his computer.

"Mr. Zero, Mr. Muto and his friends are here," one of the guards said, bowing a little.

Matt looked up from the computer for a moment, then closed it and waved his hand, saying, "Thank you, that will be all."

The guards then left the room, leaving only Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, and Matt inside.

"Don't be shy," Matt said. "Please have a seat, all of you. Would you like anything to drink?"

As they all sat, a waiter appeared for each of them, offering them a variety of drinks and snacks. Joey and Tristan took after the snacks quickly, while Tea simply drank a little water. Yugi simply looked back at Matt, holding onto the golden box where he kept the Egyptian God cards. Taking a sip of a glass of milk placed on his desk, Matt noticed Yugi's look.

"I suppose you're wondering now why I've brought you here," he addressed. "In that case, I'll be brief: with your exclusive permission, I wish to offer the Egyptian Gods as part of the prize for winning the tournament."

A loud spit echoed in the room, and a spray of chewed-up peanuts littered the carpet. Quickly, a helper cleaned the mess rather readily while the others turned to Joey.

"You what?!" Joey yelped. "Whaddya mean by dat?! Ya just want to offer da most powerful cards as some cheap prize for a tournament?!"

"You should realize that I didn't say that," Matt said sternly. "I know that what I ask seems so trivial and hardly worth it at all. But you see, I hardly have anything else without it. Money is wasteful, and I don't have very many rare cards either. So you'll understand that I have very little to offer for a tournament of this size."

"But then why organize the tournament at all?" Yugi asked.

"As I said in my message to you, to find the best of the best," Matt replied. "I want to find the strongest group of duelists out there and learn to be like them myself. And what better way of doing that than a tournament?"

"I guess that makes sense," Yugi replied, "but then why do you need the God cards?"

"What greater glory is there to aspire to than to hold the most powerful cards in the game?" Matt asked back.

"Hang on," Joey interjected. "Are you saying you're going to just give da winner da God cards?!"

"Not exactly," Matt answered. "You see, the prize for the tournament would be that the winner would get the chance to hold onto the God cards for a single day. Think of it as fifteen minutes of spotlight for them. And then once the day has passed, they would be required to relinquish the cards and return them to you."

Yugi looked at the puzzle box. "I don't know," he said. "If they were to fall into the wrong hands, they might not come back at all."

"Don't worry," Matt said, standing and walking over to the large window nearby, "I have constructed this tournament in a full-proof environment. There is no way the cards will fall into the wrong hands."

"How can ya guarantee something like dat?" Joey asked.

"There are many regulations put into place to prevent cheaters from winning the tournament," Matt replied. "Anyone who does get caught cheating by our securities will be immediately escorted off the island. In addition, the winner of the tournament cannot leave the island with the God cards in their possession, meaning they can't use them except for as long as they are on the island.

"Each player's Duel Disk, as you may be aware of, has a tracking device and a registration number programmed into it. With our systems, we are able to keep an eye on all the Duel Disks - and by extension, all the Duels - that are on the island. These advanced security measures will improve the prevention of cheating, and everyone will be made aware of these rules by example, if necessary.

"In the meanwhile, the God cards would be sealed away in a special vault that can only be opened with a certain key, which I will hold onto and give only to the winner of the tournament. This means that only I will have access to the vault, and I assure you the God cards will be kept safely within its walls until the end of the tournament."

"I don't know," Yugi said, continuing to look at the resting place of the Gods.

Matt looked at Yugi and then walked right up to him. "I cannot guarantee their safety anymore now than I could guarantee their safety out there in the open," he said.

"...well..."

Yugi continued looking at the box for a while longer. A strange feeling came over him, one that made him want him to give the cards inside to Matt. At first, he resisted, but the feeling only grew stronger until finally he lifted the lid and removed the cards: Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and The Winged Dragon of Ra. And then he handed them to Matt.

"Okay," Yugi said, "but just keep them safe."

"Of course," Matt said, a reassuring smile on his face.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Hanging in there? I should hope so. We're getting there, and soon enough the duels will begin! When the duels do begin, I'll be tossing info on the new cards as well as the key cards down here in this section. So keep an eye out down here!

What will happen in the meantime? Why would Yugi just give the Egyptian God cards away? What is that strange feeling that came over him? Is there some kind of power Matt has? What questions dance around and remain unanswered? Perhaps the answer will be discovered in the next chapter!


	4. Preliminaries

Chapter 4: The Preliminary War

After the encounter with Matt and watching him as he sealed the God Cards into the security vault, Yugi and the others headed into the courtyard to join up with the rest of the duelists who were participating in the tournament.

"I can't believe ya gave him da God Cards after all of dat," Joey said.

"Hopefully we won't have to worry about anyone else," Yugi replied. "And if all goes well, I'll still have the God cards at the end of the tournament."

"I guess ya plan on winning dis tournament then," Joey grinned.

"Of course," Yugi responded.

Their fellow duelists crowded around them, Yugi and Joey waited for the announcement to come. After a couple of minutes, Matt walked out onto the balcony.

"My fellow duelists," Matt said, "it's almost time to begin the Battle of the Titans. But before we officially start the tournament, there are some rules that need to be addressed.

"For this first part of the tournament, most of it will follow Battle City rules. You all came with a Dragon Medallion as your entry ticket, and now it is the key to your victory in this first portion. Each duelist will bet at least one of their Dragon Medallions in battle, with both players wagering the same number of medallions, and eventually there will only be a few of you left. For those who remain, you should each have fifty medallions. This is a complete free-for-all, meaning you can have tag duels, two-on-ones, all sorts. The idea is to obtain fifty by almost any means necessary. If you are caught cheating or lose all of your medallions, you are to go immediately back onto the boats.

"When you have your fifty medallions, you may return to the tower as a guarantee to your seat in the final round. There will only be sixty-four duelists in the finals. Of those sixty-four duelists, only one of them will be able to gain the chance to win our grand prize: a chance to wield the power of the Egyptian God Cards for but a single day! Let that be your incentive to win!

"And now, duelists, scatter across the island and prepare for the beginning of the tournament! The sound of three bells will signal the start!"

And with that, the crowd of duelists eagerly dispersed and scattered about the island. Yugi and Joey looked over to each other and nodded.

"Alright, I'm off to go get me some medallions!" Joey said excitedly.

"You bet," Yugi said. "I'll expect you in the finals!"

"Same to you!" Joey said. "Meet ya again soon enough!"

And with that, Joey ran off in the direction where many of the duelists went. Yugi turned to Tea and Tristan.

"What do you guys plan on doing?" Yugi asked curiously.

"I think I'm gonna check on Joey for the tourney," Tristan said. "I'll catch up with you guys later!"

And with that, Tristan ran off after Joey, yelling at him to wait up.

"I guess that means you'll be hanging with me then?" Yugi asked, to which Tea nodded.

And so Yugi and Joey went out and dueled against many of the duelists on the island. While at times they were able to win easily, they each had their respective troubles. Joey in particular nearly got beat a couple of times and won with extreme luck. At the end of the day, the two managed to retrieve the fifty medallions they needed. They managed to meet up with each other just before entering the tower once again.

"So ya managed to get your fifty, eh? No surprise," Joey noted.

"Yeah, but it wasn't easy," Yugi noted. "Hopefully things will run smoothly for the rest of the tournament, but I don't expect them to."

"You can count on it now."

The group turned in the direction of the ever familiar gruff voice of Seto Kaiba.

"Kaiba!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Couldn't resist coming out here, could ya?" Joey said, a sly grin across his face.

"I only came because I heard the Egyptian Gods were going to be up for grabs," Kaiba replied, "and of course the only one worthy of their power should be me. I only need to defeat you, Yugi, and then no one will be able to stand in my way."

"Yeah, well ya gotta have fifty medallions to even be in da finals, Kaiba!" Joey taunted.

Kaiba then immediately held up his own collection of medallions. "You were saying, Wheeler?"

The group gasped. "But how'd ya get so many so fast?!" Joey asked.

"Please, it wasn't hard for someone of my caliber," Kaiba said, shaking his head. "I'd honestly expect more from an amateur before I could expect anything from you, Wheeler."

Joey fumed at Kaiba, only to have Tristan restrain him. In the meanwhile, Yugi said to Kaiba, "I wish you the best of luck in the finals, Kaiba."

"As always, Yugi, I need to remind you..." Kaiba headed towards the gate where the medallions were being collected. "...I don't need luck."

And with that, Kaiba entered the tower.

"Man, I can't wait ta beat dat smug grin off his face," Joey grimaced as he squirmed in Tristan's grip, who finally released him once Kaiba was gone.

"Come on," Yugi said, "we should probably go after him."

And so Yugi and Joey submitted their dragon medallions and entered the tower. From there, they were escorted to a large parlor to join in with the rest of the crowd. Strangely, there seemed to be less people than they expected.

"Didn't Matt say something about sixty-something duelists getting in?" Joey asked.

"I think so," Yugi answered. "Maybe some of them haven't arrived yet or have already gone off to some bedrooms to get some rest or something."

"Yeah, now that ya mention it," Joey said stretching out his arms, "I'm exhausted from dueling da whole day. I could make due with some shut-eye."

"You put in a real good effort today, Joey," Tristan added.

"And you can bet I'm gonna give it my all tomorrow too!" Joey exclaimed.

Just then, the loud speakers came on with the sound of Matt's voice:

"Attention all finalists! Be prepared for the launching of the ship! Hopefully things will go smoothly and you won't feel much, but for your safety please head into your bunks and strap yourselves in, as there may be some turbulence on the ascent."

"Wait, did he just say-?"

Joey's question never finished, as at that moment a large rumbling was felt within the parlor. Some security personnel began escorting duelists out of the parlor and into separate rooms, eventually sticking Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan all into one room out of sheer haste. Eventually the rumbling stopped.

"Geez, I wonder what dat was all about," Joey said.

Yugi looked out the window to check up on things. "Guys! You're not going to believe this," he said.

The others looked out the window and found that a large chunk of the island was floating right next to them.

"You don't think there was a ship built into the island, was there?" Yugi wondered.

Once more, the speakers came on with the sound of Matt's voice:

"Thank you for your cooperation, finalists, and welcome to the beginning of the end for the Battle of the Titans."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Believe me, as much detail as I'd like to go into the actual butt-kicking during the tournament, the finals are going to be a handful as is. But then again, would you guys be any more surprised than that?

But now that they're in the finals, things will only get harder from here! Will Yugi and Joey be able to win their way up the ranks? What new rules will be put into place for the final rounds? And how much time and money could this Matt guy have to build a ship in an island? Come back and find out more in the next chapter!


	5. Tournament in the Sky

Chapter 5: Tournament in the Sky

Once again gathered into the parlor, which now contained a small platform with accompanying podium, Yugi, Joey, Tea, and Tristan looked about at the surrounding competition.

"I dunno," Joey said, "it looks like dere's less dan sixty-four duelists here."

"Maybe they're taking a nap?" Tristan shrugged.

"Or maybe the island took off early?" Tea suggested.

"I have to admit, I didn't think the whole island was going to fly into the sky," Yugi said.

"It's not exactly the whole island."

The group turned to find Andrew walk up to them.

"Andrew!" Yugi said. "You made it into the finals as well?"

"Yeah," Andrew replied, "but I just think I got lucky and found the weaker bunch. Don't expect anything too flashy from me."

"Hey man, you got to da finals on your first try," Joey said. "Coming from an experienced duelist like myself, I have to say dat's impressive."

"I think you're just saying that cause that happened to you back in Duelist Kingdom," Tristan said offhandedly.

"Don't give me dat," Joey said, and the two began to bicker once more.

"So what did you mean by not exactly the whole island?" Yugi asked, ignoring Joey and Tristan.

"Well, if you get the chance to reach the bottom deck of the ship," Andrew replied, "you'd find there's a room with a glass floor. You'd see that the ship was just parked on a giant crater in the middle of the ocean."

"But then what's keeping us up here?" Yugi pressed.

"A lot of power, that's for sure," Andrew answered simply. "But anyways, it's nice to know you got into the finals as well."

"You seem to know a lot about this tournament's rules and such," Yugi pointed out. "Do you happen to know much about the finals?"

"I think there was a rumor going around that the finals are going to be completely random for the next few rounds," Andrew said. "There's also supposed to be some kind of Deck Master system in place."

"Deck Master system?" It wasn't all that long ago when a group of CEO executives trapped in cyberspace utilized the same thing in order to try and take over Yugi and his friends' bodies.

"Yep," Andrew continued, "something about monsters and special abilities and the like. It'll only last until we get to the top eight or so. Oh, and there's going to be a Territorial Separation rule in place too."

"A what?"

"You never heard of Territorial Separation?"

Andrew reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a spell card, handing it over to Yugi, depicting a mystical barrier dividing a grassy meadow from a desolate wasteland.

"I'm not too surprised, though," Andrew said, "it's a pretty new card. But what it does is something special: it actually bends the rules a little and allows both players to have a Field Spell in play."

"No way!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Yeah way," Andrew replied. "You can keep that one, free of charge. I've got a couple more back in my place anyway."

"But didn't you say it was a new card?" Yugi asked.

"You could say I got connections with Industrial Illusions," Andrew replied. "Well, gotta get ready for the big announcement. Things are gonna get interesting."

And with that, Andrew headed off once more into the crowd behind him. At that moment, one of the guards went up to the podium, tapped on a microphone, and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, before we begin the final rounds of the tournament, your host has an announcement to make."

With that, the guard left the platform, and Matt Zero stepped up to the podium.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began. "As you have all proven, you are the top sixty-four duelists in the world. Certainly the only thing that can stop any of you now is each other, and we are all here to see that to the end. Tonight, however, a celebration in honor of your achievements! Feel free to eat to your heart's content and rest up for tomorrow when the real battle starts."

With that, several waiters with several carts of food appear on the sides of the room. A distinct glow came from Joey and Tristan's faces as they looked hungrily towards the food. Matt gave pause until the room of duelists had gathered a variety of meals and sat down at the tables brought out by other waiters.

"While you eat, allow me to explain the rules for the next few upcoming rounds," Matt continued after everyone was seated. "The rules are going to change a little bit for the purposes of these rounds.

"For starters, your starting Life Point total will not be 4000 as before, but be doubled and start at 8000. This may extend the length of a duel to longer than normal, but this shouldn't affect you in any way during the actual duel.

"Next, we will be testing out the Deck Master system for certain duels during the rounds. Both players will be notified if the duel is to run under the Deck Master system via the PDAs given to you as you leave the room. For this, we will inform you of all Deck Master abilities, which will be sent to your computer systems built into the room you are in. In this way, you will know what Deck Master you would like to use during your upcoming match.

"Finally, we will also utilize a new rule: both players will be allowed to keep a Field Spell in play during the duel. In this case, all Field Spell abilities will be active as per usual, even in the case that two Field Spells are in play.

"Now, for the organization of the final rounds, you will not know who you're opponent is until just before your match. By then, you will be well informed of any Deck Master rules to be used in the duel, and of course you'll already know what Deck Master and Field Spell to use.

"And now, duelists, rest up, for tomorrow is a big day!"

And with that, Matt left the podium and exited the room.

"Alright!" Joey said.

"You heard the man," Tristan said.

"LET'S EAT!"

And the two immediately dug into their pile of food already in front of them. Yugi couldn't help but smile when suddenly-

"I'm curious, Yugi, why did you give him the Egyptian Gods?"

Yugi twitched and turned around to find Yami right beside him. He had been transported to the realm where they could communicate mentally. Yami had his arms crossed as usual, accompanied by a persistent stare.

"Well, I..." Yugi began, but Yami cut him off.

"Yugi, those cards are the keys to unlocking my memory," Yami said. "I don't know why you would just hand them over to anyone."

"I know," Yugi said, "and that's what's bothering me a bit. I don't know what it was, but I just felt like giving them to him would be the right thing to do."

"I understand that," Yami said, nodding his head, "but that doesn't mean we can trust just anyone with their power."

"I know," Yugi said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"It's alright," Yami said. "It just means we'll have to win them back, just like Battle City."

"Yeah," Yugi murmured.

"I'm sure you had a better reason then than you would now," Yami said, placing his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "But now's not the time to think about it. Now, we'll rest up and win this tournament for our sake."

"For our sake," Yugi said.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Deck Masters? Territorial Separation? This tournament's got a lot of explaining to do, and it starts with the new card:

**Territorial Separation** (Continuous Spell Card)  
Effect: Both players are allowed to have 1 Field Spell card active on the field. When this card is removed from the field, destroy all Field Spells in play.

How will Yugi and Joey take advantage of these rules? More importantly, how will they contend with the rest of the competition? Will Yugi be able to win back the God Cards readily? Let's see what happens in the next chapter!


	6. Fortune Favors the Revolution

Chapter 6: Fortune Favors the Revolution

That night, the group of friends split themselves up between the two rooms - the guys all managed to make due with the one room while Tea kept the second. Yugi and Joey kept themselves occupied with yet another practice duel to sharpen their skills for the next day. As they went to bed, thoughts of who their opponents would be came to mind. They had each gotten a good look at the majority of the competition within the parlor, with the exception of a small number that left their seats empty.

The next morning, Yugi woke up and found Joey already at the computer, flicking away at the roller ball in the mouse.

"Joey? What're you doing up?" Yugi asked.

"Nyeh, I'm looking through da Deck Master stuff," Joey said. "I got a message on my PDA about my duel having Deck Masters!"

"Already?" Tristan said, rubbing his eyes as he woke up. "Your luck never changes, does it?"

"Ah yeah!" Joey exclaimed. "Dis is great! I can use my Flame Swordsman again!"

"What?" Yugi asked.

"The Deck Master system gave Flame Swordsman da same ability he had back in dat virtual world incident," Joey explained. "Hehe, dat other guy won't even know what hit 'im!"

"That's assuming you meet up with a guy," Tristan pointed out.

"That's true," Yugi agreed. "After all, there were a couple female duelists around."

"Eh, I'm not worried," Joey said. "Time to get dis show on da road!"

"Do you know where you're going?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, some Duel Field with a number," Joey answered. "Let's see...eh...a 23A...nyeh? Where's dat supposed to be?"

"I think there might be a map function on it somewhere," Yugi said. "I kinda looked at mine for a bit to figure it out."

After showing Joey the map, they managed to locate the exact whereabouts of the Duel Field and the accompanying spectator booth. With that in mind, they picked Tea up and headed over to the Duel Field, with Joey preparing his Duel Disk for the upcoming battle.

On the Duel Field, Joey awaited his opponent to appear. In the meantime, Yugi, Tristan, and Tea waited in the spectator booth Tristan looked up at the TV monitor stationed in the room to check up on the match-up.

"Looks like Joey's dueling a girl," Tristan said.

"Lucky Lynn," Yugi read off the screen. "I wonder if she's as lucky as Joey is."

From the other side of the field, a brown-haired girl wearing dirty and ragged clothing entered the field, a different-styled grey Duel Disk on her arm. Joey was taken aback by her appearance but then regained his focus.

"So you're gonna be my opponent, eh?" he asked.

The girl simply activated her Duel Disk, with a single space coming out from the body before the other spaces spread out from it.

"It would seem so," she replied, bringing out her deck, shuffling it, and inserting it into the deck space of her disk. "My name's Lynn by the way."

Joey prepared his own Duel Disk and deck for the duel. "Joey Wheeler's mine," he said, introducing himself.

A small speaker in the room spoke out: "Please select your Deck Master at this time."

"Alright! I choose da Flame Swordsman!" Joey announced. A tall muscular man wearing blue clothing and an orange headdress and kilt appeared next to Joey.

"I choose United Resistance," Lynn announced. Several hooded figures appeared next to her, a couple having their arms folded.

With that down, the two drew their starting hands and said, "Let's duel!"

Lynn: 8000  
Joey: 8000

"It's my turn," Lynn said, drawing a card. "And I'll start by Setting a monster on the field in Defense mode. That's all for now."

A holographic card appeared on Lynn's field, turned horizontally with the back of the card facing up.

"Alright, time for Joey Wheeler to rock the house!" Joey said, drawing a card. "And I'm bringing in Alligator's Sword in Attack mode!"

An armored green lizardman wielding a sword appeared on Joey's field (4/1500/1200).

"Go, Alligator's Sword!" Joey declared. "Attack her monster!"

The lizardman lunged at the face-down card. It flipped over to reveal several ragged people wielding scythes. The group banded together and deflected the strike of Alligator's Sword with their own weapons.

"Nyeh?! What happened?" Joey said as his life points dropped.

Lynn: 8000  
Joey: 7500

"You just attacked my Oppressed People (1/400/2000)," Lynn explained. "And since their Defense of 2000 is greater than your monster's Attack of 1500, you just lost some Life Points."

Meanwhile in the spectator booth...

"Oppressed People?" Yugi wondered aloud.

"You know that card?" Tristan asked.

Yugi nodded. "It's one in a set of cards," Yugi explained, "and if she's got this one, and she's got United Resistance, then chances are she's got the other two cards needed for the combo."

"What combo is that?" Tea asked curiously.

"The Huge Revolution," Yugi answered.

Back on the field, Joey picked out two cards from his hand.

"I'm Setting dese cards face-down," he said, "and my turn ends here."

"My move," Lynn said, drawing a card. "And now I'll summon People Running About in Attack mode!"

A group of people appeared on the field, panicked and frightened (2/600/600).

"Dat monster's Attack points are only 600," Joey said. "Ya can't expect to beat my monster with that, do ya?"

"Not at all," Lynn replied. "But I won't have to worry once I activate the Level Limit Area - B Spell card!"

A spell card appeared on the field and emitted a pulse, forcing Joey's Alligator's Sword into Defense mode.

"What da -?!"

"You're going to find things to be a little trickier now," Lynn said. "My Level Limit Area-B spell forces all monsters with a level of 4 or greater into Defense position."

_Ah man, dat means I can't even use my Alligator's Sword!_

"Next I activate Secret Pass to the Treasures!" Lynn announced. "And with this spell, by selecting a monster with 1000 or less Attack points, I can use it to attack your Life Points directly! So now, People Running About, attack him directly!"

Suddenly, a group of guards appeared behind the People Running About and began attacking them, forcing them to run at Joey!

"Not so fast!" Joey said, triggering a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate my trap, Magical Arm Shield!"

Alligator's Sword gained a robotic shield, which activated and snagged Oppressed People and dragged them in front of the People Running About! The People ran into the Oppressed, who held them back from reaching Alligator's Sword!

"With dis, I can snag a monster on your field when your monster attacks," Joey explained, "and since I got your Oppressed People, you take damage between your People's Attack and da Oppressed's Defense!"

Lynn: 6600  
Joey: 7500

"Yeah!" Tristan said from the booth. "Way to go, Joey!"

"Don't get too excited," Yugi said. "She's definitely planning on using that combo, and if she succeeds, then Joey's going to be in for a rough time."

"Not bad," Lynn said as she Set two cards. "I'll just end my turn with these."

"Alright, my move!" Joey announced, drawing a new card. _Okay, I can't use a monster with at least 4 stars, or else her card's gonna switch it to Defense mode. So then dat means..._

"I summon Baby Dragon (3/1200/700) to the field in Attack mode!" he declared. A small orange dragon appeared on the field, giggling a little.

"Now go! Attack the People Running About!"

The dragon takes in a deep breath and lets loose a fireball at the People!

"Not so fast!" Lynn said. "I counter with my Negate Attack!"

The fireball was intercepted by a warphole which completely absorbed the attack!

"With this, your attack is negated, and your Battle Phase ends," Lynn announced.

"Nyeh~!" Joey yelped. He looked over his hand quickly to plan his next move. After picking out a card, he announced, "Alright, den I'll play dis card face-down and end my turn!"

"Fine then," Lynn said, drawing a card. "My turn!"

"Not so fast!" Joey said, opening one of his face-downs. "I'm activating Graceful Dice!"

A chibi fairy with a bowtie and a blue die appeared.

"Now my monsters will have dere power increased by 100 points multiplied by da roll of da die!" Joey said, and with that the fairy tossed the die into the air. When the die landed, it revealed a 4!

"Yeah! Now my monsters' are gonna get a boost of 400 Atk and Def points!" Joey announced.

Alligator's Sword (1500/**1200** - 1900/**1600**)  
Baby Dragon (**1200**/700 - **1600**/1100)

"Powering up your monsters before my attack?" Lynn mused. "Not exactly the smartest move. Now then, for my turn, I summon United Resistance (3/1000/400) from my hand!"

With that, more hooded people appeared on the field next to the fearful and the ragged peoples.

"And now for my ace trap card!" Lynn said. "Go, Huge Revolution!"

"Hey Yugi," Tristan asked. "What exactly does Huge Revolution do?"

"Well, if it's her Main Phase, and she controls Oppressed People, People Running About, and United Resistance on her field," Yugi explained, "the Huge Revolution trap card can be used to destroy all the cards on the opponent's field and in their hand."

"It can what?!" Tristan yelped, just as Joey said the same thing as Lynn explained the effects of her card.

"Go, Huge Revolution! Wipe out all of his cards!"

The trap card glowed fiercely as the Oppressed People, People Running About, and United Resistance raised their fists into the air! Then a huge surge of energy was unleashed from the card!

"Gah! I activate my trap card!" Joey said, just before the explosive force wiped out Alligator's Sword and Baby Dragon!

After the smoke cleared, a single red die was lying on the field, a 6 on the top side.

"What?!" Lynn asked.

"Hehehehehe," Joey laughed. "I got to activate my Skull Dice trap card just before you wiped out my cards! And since the number rolled was a 6, your monsters all lose 600 Atk and Def points!"

Oppressed People (400/**2000** - 0/**1400**)  
People Running About (**600**/600 - **0**/0)  
United Resistance (**1000**/400 - **400**/0)

"Not bad," Lynn said. "Reducing my offensive capabilities by a lucky roll. But that won't save you! Now I play Thousand Energy, raising the Attack and Defense of my People Running About by 1000!"

People Running About (**0**/0 - **1000**/1000)

"Nyeh!" Joey yelped.

"Now go, my people," Lynn declared, "and attack his Life Points directly!"

The hooded and frantic people all teamed up for an assault on Joey's Life Points, and with nothing to defend himself with, Joey had to take the entire attack!

Lynn: 6600  
Joey: 6100

"Man, dat was brutal," Joey said.

"Fortunately for you," Lynn explained, "my Thousand Energy wipes out all the monsters affected by it, meaning the People Running About are destroyed."

With that remark, the frantic group of people were blown apart into holographic sparkles.

"And that's all I can do for now," Lynn said.

_But it sure was a lot,_ Joey thought. _Now I've only got whatever comes to the top of my deck! And now that her turn's over, my Skull Dice's effect wears off._

Oppressed People (0/**1400 **- 400/**2000**)  
United Resistance (**400**/0 -** 1000**/400)

"Good luck to you, Joey," Lynn said. "You're going to need it."

_Luck? Ha! Joey's got all da luck he needs!_ Joey thought.

"It's my turn now!"

Joey drew his card, looked at it, then he smiled with glee.

"Alright!" he said. "Now I'm summoning out my Fiend Megacyber (6/2200/1200) in Attack mode!"

A large golden warrior appeared on Joey's field.

"Thanks to da Fiend Megacyber's special ability," Joey explained, "since you have two more monsters out dan I do, I can Special Summon 'im free of charge!"

"Very good," Lynn said, "but I'm afraid you'll have to do better!"

Suddenly, Fiend Megacyber shifted to a kneeling position. (2200/**1200**)

"Nyeh~? What happened?!" Joey asked.

"Did you forget? My Level Limit Area - B is still in effect," Lynn explained, "and as long as it's on the field, I can continue to hold off your attacks no matter how long it takes."

"Gahhh, I end my turn," Joey said disgruntled.

"Then it's my move!" Lynn said. She drew her card, looked at it, then Set it on the field.

"I'll only play this one card and end my turn," she said.

"Alright, time for some more luck," Joey thought aloud. "Here goes!"

Joey drew his next card, and once again he smiled.

"Alright!" he said "This oughta get me outta dis for sure! I activate Roll of Fate!"

The Spell card activated, depicting a woman and a man facing opposite ways with a single die between them.

"With dis, I can roll a die again," Joey explained, "and depending on the roll of the die, I can draw dat many cards from my deck. But den I have ta discard dat many too."

With that said, an arm popped out of the card and rolled a white die. The die spun around before landing on 3!

"Alright!" Joey said. "Now I draw three cards and den discard three cards."

After performing the actions, Joey looked over his new hand and smiled.

"Here goes!" Joey said. "First, I'm playing the Giant Trunade spell, which returns all other Spells and Traps on the field to the owner's hand!"

A great wind swept the field, forcing Lynn's Level Limit Area - B and face-down card back to her hand.

"Next, I'm sacrificing The Fiend Megacyber," he continued, "in order to bring out my Jinzo (6/2400/1500)!"

A tall cyborg with a mask over its face rose up on Joey's field, accompanied by dark lightning.

"Alright!" Tristan said. "With that, Lynn can't use her Huge Revolution card!"

"Or any other trap card for that matter," Yugi added.

"Now I'll have Jinzo attack your United Resistance!" Joey declared.

Jinzo charges a dark sphere of electrical energy and sends it at United Resistance! The people are destroyed!

Lynn: 5200  
Joey: 6100

"And now I play dis card face-down," Joey said, "and end my turn!"

"My move then," Lynn said, drawing a card, "and I'll replay Level Limit Area - B in order to put Jinzo on the defensive!"

Jinzo (**2400**/1500 - 2400/**1500**)

"That's all I can do for now," Lynn said.

"It's my turn now!" Joey said, drawing the top card, looking at it, then immediately activating it. "Now for my Dangerous Machine Type-6 to enter play!"

A blue machine with several lottery ball attachments appeared on the field. The machine kicked into gear and started rotating the balls at high speed!

"And now with dis card," Joey explained, "a different effect will happen depending on what comes up during my Standby Phase. But for now, I'll just end my turn!"

"My turn!" Lynn called out, drawing a card. "And now I'll activate the card I drew: Double Snare! With it, I can destroy any card that negates the effects of Trap cards, such as your Jinzo!"

With the power of the spell, Jinzo explodes into sparkling dust!

"Oh no!" Joey reacted.

"And now," Lynn announced, "I summon another Oppressed People in Atk Mode and switch the one already on my field to Atk Mode!"

Another group of beaten-down people appeared on Lynn's field! The combined mob looks aggressively at Joey!

"And finally," Lynn continued, "I'll use Triangle Power to increase the Atk and Def of my Oppressed People by 2000 each!"

"Say what?!"

Oppressed People (**400**/2000 - **2400**/4000)

"Now go, my people!" Lynn called out. "Attack Joey's Life Points directly!"

The people charge at Joey and brutally beat him down with their farm tools!

Lynn: 5200  
Joey: 1300

"Oh man," Tristan noted, "Joey just lost a huge chunk of his Life Points."

"That's true, but Lynn is taking a big risk with that," Yugi explained. "At the end of her turn, all her monsters are going to be destroyed by Triangle Power's effect, meaning her Life Points are going to be wide open for a counterattack by Joey."

"I'll end my turn here," Lynn announced, and with that, all her monsters were destroyed.

"Hehe, not bad," Joey said, "but I've been tight spots like dis one before, and I've always come through! It's my turn now!"

Joey draws a card from the top of his deck.

"And now I activate Dangerous Machine Type-6's effect!" Joey declared. The lottery balls begin to spin wildly as Joey explains, "With dis card, depending on what number da machine stops on, a different effect activates! So now, let's see what we got!"

The lottery balls continued spinning rapidly until finally they slowed to a halt. The numbers revealed 3!

"Alright!" Joey said. "Now thanks to my machine, I get to draw another card!"

After Joey draws his card, he announced, "And now's da time to trigger my trap!"

"What?!"

"Dat's right," Joey explained, "or did you forget that I had a card face-down? And now, I activate it! Take One Chance!"

The lone card on Joey's field revealed itself, depicting a picture of a person pondering which of three chests to pick.

"With dis card," Joey continued, "I can pick out a random card from my Graveyard, and if it's a Monster card, I can Summon it, and if it's a Spell or Trap card, I can activate it! So let's go..."

A card ejected itself from Joey's Duel Disk. Immediately, Joey picked up the card, looked at it, smiled, and activated it!

"Giant Trunade!"

"Again?!" Lynn said, taken aback by the sudden windstorm that swept her Level Limit Area - B once more off the field! Joey returned his Dangerous Machine Type-6 to his hand as well.

"Next I activate da Arduous Decision Spell card!" Joey said. "Now with dis, I get to draw two cards, and then you get to pick one of dem, and if it's a Monster, I can Special Summon it to da field!"

With that said, Joey drew his next two cards and held them up for Lynn.

"Alrighty," Joey said. "Lefty or righty?"

Lynn gazed intensely at the cards for a moment. "I pick the card in your right hand!" she declared.

"Are you surrrre?" Joey taunted.

"Yes, I'm sure," Lynn said nervously.

Joey smiled. "Well den, let me show ya what ya picked!" he said, playing the card on the field. "I summon Gilford the Lightning (8/2800/1400)!"

A mighty warrior clad in armor an wielding a large sword charged with electricity appeared on the field. He stood proudly by Joey, his cape fluttering as though a breeze had come by.

"Next I play da Monster Reborn card!" Joey said. "And with dis, I get to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard!"

"I already know what monster you're going to summon, and it won't work," Lynn said. "My United Resistance Deck Master has the ability to destroy any card that can negate Trap cards, as long as I pay 1000 Life Points. So the moment you bring back your Jinzo-"

"Who said I was summoning Jinzo?" Joey said, smiling.

"What?!"

"Dat's right," Joey continued, "cause da monster I'm summoning is my Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/2400/2000)!"

A mighty dragon appeared on Joey's field, its scales tinted with darkness and a scarlet gleam in its eyes. It roared fiercely as it made its grand entrance onto the battlefield!

"But that can't be," Lynn said. "I never sent that card to the Graveyard!"

"Dat's right, you didn't send it to the Graveyard," Joey explained. "Dat's cause I sent it to the Graveyard when I used my Roll of Fate!"

"That's right," Lynn said. "You discarded three cards then...meaning one of them was this card..."

"Dat's right!" Joey said. "And if my calculations are correct, dis oughta be game, set, match! Go, Gilford the Lightning! Attack her Life Points directly!"

The mighty warrior raised his sword to the sky and struck down a mighty lightning bolt on Lynn, depleting her Life Points!

Lynn: 2400  
Joey: 1300

"And now, Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Attack! Inferno Fire Blast!"

The dragon let out a mighty roar before releasing a dark crimson fireball at Lynn, reducing her Life Points to 0!

Lynn: 0  
Joey: 1300

"Yeah! Way to go, Joey!" Tristan cheered.

Lynn bowed her head for a moment before looking up at Joey once more. "Thanks for a great duel," she said. "You're a really lucky duelist, it seems."

"Hehe, don't sweat it! You were pretty tough to beat," Joey said.

Lynn reached down to the top card of her deck and drew it. "It seems my luck would have run out sooner or later," she said, revealing to Joey a spell card depicting a bear trap snapping at a very surprised goblin.

"Nyeh? What's that?" he asked.

"It's a Quick-Play Spell called Booby Trap!" she said. "It allows a player to activate a Trap card in the turn it was Set. I remember giving a lot of people trouble with this card in combination with my Huge Revolution."

"Wow, dat's pretty nifty!" Joey said.

"Yep," Lynn said. "Anyways, I hope you do well for the rest of the tournament!"

And with that, Lynn departed from the room. Joey met up with his friends and celebrated his first victory in the tournament!

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

And so the duels begin! Here's a look at some of the cards:

**Oppressed People **(Normal Monster)  
Level 1, 400 Atk, 2000 Def, Aqua, WATER

**People Running About** (Normal Monster)  
Level 2, 600 Atk, 600 Def, Pyro, FIRE

**United Resistance** (Normal Monster)  
Level 3, 1000 Atk, 400 Def, Thunder, WIND

**Huge Revolution** (Normal Trap)  
Effect: This card can only be activated during your Main Phase when "People Running About", "Oppressed People", and "United Resistance", are face-up on your side of the field. Send all cards in your opponent's hand to the Graveyard and destroy all cards your opponent controls on the field.

**Jinzo** (Effect Monster)  
Level 6, 2400 Atk, 1500 Def, Machine, DARK  
Effect: Trap cards and their effects cannot be activated. The effects of all face-up Trap cards on the field are negated.

**Gilford the Lightning **(Effect Monster)  
Level 8, 2800 Atk, 1400 Def, Warrior, LIGHT  
Effect: You can Tribute 3 monsters to Tribute Summon this card. If you do, destroy all monsters your opponent controls.

**Red-Eyes Black Dragon** (Normal Monster)  
Level 7, 2400 Atk, 2000 Def, Dragon, DARK

**Booby Trap!** (Quick-Play Spell)  
Effect: Activate 1 face-down Trap Card that you Set this turn.

More duels to come! Don't go too far!


	7. Toons in Spades

Chapter 7: Toons in Spades

Yugi entered the dueling arena, his deck in his disk, as he was about to begin his first duel against a new opponent. He waited patiently for his opponent to show while the others waited in the lobby area watching the field.

"Joe Kari Spades," Joey read off the TV screen depicting Yugi and his opponent. "Another female duelist."

"It's kind of curious that you'd both be facing off against female duelists in your first matches," Tristan noted.

"I say it's a good thing," Tea said. "At least these girls aren't like Mai Valentine was in Duelist Kingdom."

"Eh, ya never know," Joey said.

Suddenly, a girl came bursting through the doorway on the other end, somersaulting to her spot on the field!

"Yahoooooo!" she cried out, landing on her feet. "Alright! Let's get this show on the road!"

Everyone was taken aback.

_She seems to have a lot more energy than Lynn did_, Yugi noted, but he couldn't help but smile at this duelist's enthusi-

"Hey! Come on! Let's go! I've been waiting to duel ya all day!" Joe called out, shuffling her deck rapidly.

_...enthusiastic _and _impatient...oh well..._

Yugi began shuffling his own deck in preparation for the duel. After he stuck his deck into the Duel Disk, he drew his five cards to the cat calls of Joe.

"Man, you're so slow! You need to pick up the pace if ya wanna beat me!" Joe taunted, holding her five cards up and waving them back and forth in a challenging sense.

"No need to rush just yet," Yugi said back, looking over his own hand. "Alright, whenever you're ready."

"Ready? Man, I've been ready for a long time!"

"LET'S DUEL!"

Joe: 8000  
Yugi: 8000

"Since I finished first, I'll start first!" Joe said, drawing a card. "Looks like I'm gonna kick things off big! I play the Spell Absorption card!"

A card with a hand drawing out the magical energy from a figure appeared on Joe's field.

"Now every time either of us activates a Spell card," Joe explained, "I'll get 500 Life Points! And now it's time to take a visit to my world! I play Toon World!"

"Toon World?!"

An all too familiar pop-up book appeared, opening up to reveal a dark and gloomy town in a rather cartoony fashion.

"Of course, in order to play Toon World," Joe explained, "I have to pay 1000 Life Points."

Joe: 7000  
Yugi: 8000

"But now," she continued, "I gain 500 Life Points thanks to Spell Absorption!"

Joe: 7500  
Yugi: 8000

_Two cards in the same turn, and it looks like it's a Toon deck, just like Pegasus's,_ Yugi thought. He had dealt with Toons before, way back in Duelist Kingdom. Back then, they were a force to be reckoned with, being nearly indestructible and making Pegasus untouchable. But they still had one weakness: Toon World itself.

"Now I'll play the Toon Table of Contents!" Joe called out. "With this, I can add any card from my deck with Toon in its name and add it to my hand! And I'll be bringing out another Toon Table of Contents! And since I activated a spell, more Life Points for me!"

Joe: 8000  
Yugi: 8000

"Now I'll use the Table of Contents I just got to get another," Joe continued, "and then I'll use that one to add Toon Dark Magician Girl to my hand!"

Joe: 9000  
Yugi: 8000

_Already, in a single turn, her Life Points have gone down and up,_ Yugi thought. _She's pretty good._

"Next I play the Star Blast spell!" Joe continued. "Now by paying 500 Life Points per Level, I can knock off that number of stars from my monster, lowering its Level! So I pay 1000 Life Points to lower Toon Dark Magician Girl's level by 2! And then I'll take back 500 for Spell Absorption!"

Joe: 8500  
Yugi: 8000

"Now I summon my Toon Dark Magician Girl(6 - 4/2000/1700) to the field in Attack Mode!" Joe announced.

A cartoony Dark Magician Girl appeared with a puff of pink smoke and a strange popping sound. She twirls her staff about before pointing it at Yugi.

"Now here comes the fun part! I now play Magical Reflector!" Joe added. "With it, I can add a Shield Counter to a face-up Spell card on my field, and if that card would be destroyed, the Shield takes the hit instead!"

A small machine appears and surrounds Toon World with an energy field!

Joe: 9000  
Yugi: 8000

"And to end it all, I'm throwing a card face-down!" Joe finished. "Your turn!"

_Wow, she managed to play out her entire hand, set up a defense, and summon a monster with 2000 Atk points on her first turn,_ Yugi analyzed. _Not a bad start at all._

Meanwhile, in the side booth, Yugi's friends observed the match.

"Man, dat was fast," Joey noted. "She managed to pull a strong monster on her first turn!"

"Joe's already off to a good lead," Tristan agreed.

"It's my move now," Yugi called out, drawing his first card. "And I summon Big Shield Gardna (4/100/2600) in Defense Mode!"

A great long-haired warrior wielding a massive shield appears on the field.

"Next I Set these two cards face-down," Yugi declared, "and that ends my turn."

"Is that all you've got?" Joe asked, drawing her next card. "Please! Toon Dark Magician Girl's got the power to hit your Life Points directly! Go, Toon Dark Magician Girl! Attack Yugi's Life Points directly!"

The cartoony girl charged up her wand with pinkish dark energy and bypassed Big Shield Gardna to hit Yugi directly!

Joe: 9000  
Yugi: 6000

"Looks like you're losing your touch!" Joe said. "I'll end my turn here!"

"You think so, huh?" Yugi said, drawing his next card. "Well think again! Cause now I sacrifice Big Shield Gardna to in order to play the Summoned Skull (6/2500/1200)!"

The warrior disappears, and in his place appears a large skeletal fiend, growling as it spreads it wings out.

"And now I play Makiu, the Magical Mist!" Yugi announced. "Now with this card, I can destroy all monsters on your field that have a Defense less than the Attack of my Summoned Skull!"

"No way!"

A light mist appeared on the field, sparking Summoned Skull's power and sending it surging through the entire field! The Toon Dark Magician Girl is electrocuted and vanishes in an explosive puff of smoke!

"Alright!" Joey cheered from the booth. "Way to knock off dat cheap toon!"

Joe merely smirked. "Well since you used a Spell card," she pointed out, "I gain 500 Life Points thanks to Spell Absorption!"

Joe: 9500  
Yugi: 6000

Yugi nodded. "When I use Makiu to destroy a monster on the field," he continued, "I can't attack this turn. But now I use my Dust Tornado trap card, and with it, I'm going to take out your Spell Absorption card!"

As Yugi's trap activates, a fierce wind blows out against the Spell Absorption spell card!

"Not so fast there, Yugi," Joe said. "I activate my face-down, Red-Hand Trap!"

Suddenly, a crimson hand appeared, canceling out the tornado!

"I can use this card when you activate a card that would destroy my Spell and Trap cards," Joe explained. "And now, I negate and destroy your Dust Tornado card!"

With that, Yugi's trap card vanished!

"Aw man, he almost could've gotten rid of dat card," Joey said.

"But why not take care of Toon World?" Tristan wondered.

"Probably because it's still got the protection from that Magical Reflector she played at the start," Tea noted.

"Yeah, dat's right," Joey said. "He'd have to use two cards to get rid of it while dat Spell Absorption card coulda gone with just one!"

Meanwhile, back on the field, Yugi stared down Joe, who smiled and winked while sticking out her tongue. "You didn't think I was gonna go down that easily, eh?" Joe taunted.

"I guess this is where my turn ends," Yugi said.

"Good, now let's see what I can do!" Joe said, drawing a card. "And I'll use my Fiend's Sanctuary card to bring forth a Metal Fiend Token (1/0/0)!"

A shiny metallic creature appeared on Joe's field, its body reflecting the Summoned Skull's body.

"And thanks to my Spell Absorption card, another 500 Life Points for me!"

Joe: 10000  
Yugi: 6000

"And now I'll sacrifice my Metal Fiend Token," Joe continued, "and summon up a new Toon Dark Magician Girl!"

The glimmering token disappeared into shimmering sparkles and reformed into the childish imitation of the Dark Magician Girl.

"Aw man, not another one!" Joey called out from the booth.

"And now," Joe continued, "time to take out some more of your Life Points!"

Toon Dark Magician charged her staff with magical power and fires off a powerful orb at Yugi!

"Not if I can help it! Activate trap card! Mirror Force!"

The magical sphere suddenly bounces off a mysterious force and is reflected back at Toon Dark Magician Girl!

"When your monster declares an attack, I can use this to destroy all of your attacking monsters!" Yugi declared.

With that said, Toon Dark Magician Girl got blown apart by her own attack! Joe, greatly startled by this twist, said, "I end my turn."

"Alright, then it's my move," Yugi announced as he drew a new card. "And now I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior (4/1400/1700) in Attack mode!"

A green warrior composed of magnets and wielding a magnetic sword and shield appeared on Yugi's field!

"And now I'll attack you directly with both of my monsters!" Yugi declared.

With that, Alpha slashes his sword at Joe while Summoned Skull charges up and fires lightning away at her as well!

Joe: 6100  
Yugi: 6000

"Now that that's out of the way, I'll Set this one card face-down," Yugi said.

"Way to go, man!" Tristan cheered from the sidelines.

"Yeah, you got dis!" Joey cheered as well.

"Then I guess this means it's my turn," Joe said, drawing her next card. She looked at her newly drawn card and notably flinched. "I'm ending my turn here."

"Alright then, my move again!" Yugi announced. After drawing a new card, he declared, "Now I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior (4/1500/1800) and have him attack you with Alpha and Summoned Skull!"

A pink magnetic warrior joined the ranks and punched Joe, followed by Alpha's sword and Summoned Skull's lightning!

Joe: 700  
Yugi: 6000

"My turn ends here," Yugi said.

"Guess it's time for a comeback! My turn!" Joe announced, drawing a new card. This time, she looked at her card and smiled. "First I'll activate my Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw until we have six cards! And since it's a Spell, Spell Absorption gives me 500 Life Points again!"

Joe: 1200  
Yugi: 6000

After the two drew their new cards, Joe looked through her hand and said, "Looks like I'm gonna be able to do some more! First I activate Cost Down, discarding a card from my hand to the Graveyard and decreasing the levels of all my monsters in hand by 2! And on top of that, 500 more Life Points from Spell Absoprtion!"

Joe: 1700  
Yugi: 6000

"Now I can Summon my third Toon Dark Magician Girl!" Joe declared, and once again the ever-familiar cartoon kid appeared on her field. "Now let's take your Life Points down another notch!"

A new magical orb of dark energy is cast from Toon Dark Magician Girl's staff and sent directly at Yugi!

Joe: 1700  
Yugi: 4000

"And now for another spell of mine called Sebek's Blessing," Joe announced, "which gives me the same amount of Life Points you just lost, and with Spell Absorption I'll gain another 500!"

Joe: 4200  
Yugi: 4000

"Now I'll Set a card face-down," she continued, "and end my turn!"

"Impressive turnaround," Yugi said, drawing his next card. "But it's all over now!"

"What?!"

"First I'll sacrifice my two Magnet Warriors in order to summon the Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)!" Yugi declared.

Alpha and Gamma disappeared from the field, and in their place there arose the iconic figure of Yugi's deck, garbed in purple robes and brandishing a mighty green staff.

"Next I'll activate the Spell card Dark Magic Attack!" Yugi declared. "With this card, if I control a face-up Dark Magician, I can use it to get rid of all your Spell and Trap cards! Now go, Dark Magician! Wipe out his defenses!"

The Dark Magician charged up a magical sphere of dark purple energy and destroyed Joe's Spells and Traps!

"Thanks to the Magical Reflector from my first turn," Joe said, "my Toon World won't be destroyed."

"Well then now it's time to take out your Toon Dark Magician Girl," Yugi declared. "Go, Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!"

With that, Dark Magician annihilates the Toon Dark Magician Girl with a single blast!

Joe: 3700  
Yugi: 4000

"And now, my Summoned Skull, attack her Life Points directly!" The mighty fiend unleashes its lightning attack against Joe!

Joe: 1200  
Yugi: 4000

"Now I'll just Set these two cards face-down," Yugi said, "and end my turn."

"Hehe, so much for dat comeback!" Joey taunted from the booth.

"Yeah, you the man, Yug!" Tristan chimed.

"Guess this didn't turn out so well," Joe said, drawing a card. "I don't have much else to go on, so I'll Set one monster on the field in Defense mode and end my turn."

A single face-down card appeared horizontally as Joe's turn came to an end.

"Alright, my move!" Yugi announced, and after he drew his next card, he called out, "Now go, Summoned Skull! Attack her face-down monster with Lightning Strike!"

The fiend unleashes another bolt of lightning against Joe's monster, which reveals itself as Toon Alligator (4/800/1600). The poor cartoon ax-wielding gator gets fried!

"And now, Dark Magician!" Yugi continued. "End this duel!"

With his master's call, the Dark Magician unleashed a powerful magic attack against Joe!

Joe: 0  
Yugi: 4000

"Alright! Yugi won!" Joey cheered.

"Way to go!" Tea added.

Meanwhile Joe grabbed her cards. "I gotta say, you put me in my place," she said. "Hope things go well for you in the tournament!"

"Thanks!" Yugi said. "But there's just one thing I'd like to ask. Where did you get those Toon cards?"

Joe looked a little surprised. "The Toons? Well, let's just say I have my connections. Anyways, I'm off!"

And with that, Joe evacuated the duel field!

"Connections?" Yugi wondered. _Haven't we heard of that somewhere before?_

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

More people with more connections? This is just getting ridiculous! But now we've got to take a look at the cards!

**Toon World** (Continuous Spell Card)  
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points to activate this card.

**Toon Dark Magician Girl** (Toon Monster Card)  
Level 6, 2000 Atk, 1700 Def, Spellcaster, DARK  
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Cannot be Special Summoned unless you control a face-up "Toon World". Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by Tributing the same number of monsters required for a Tribute Summon (normally 1). If "Toon World" on the field is destroyed, destroy this card. This card can attack your opponent directly, unless they control a Toon Monster. If they do control one, this card must target a Toon Monster for its attacks. This card gains 300 ATK for every "Dark Magician" or "Magician of Black Chaos" in either player's Graveyard.

**Spell Absorption **(Continuous Spell Card)  
Effect: You gain 500 Life Points every time a Spell card is activated.

**Makiu the Magical Mist** (Normal Spell Card)  
Effect: Target 1 face-up "Summoned Skull" or Thunder-type monster you control; destroy all monsters your opponent controls with DEF less than or equal to the ATK of that monster. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activate this card.

**Summoned Skull** (Normal Monster Card)  
Level 6, 2500 Atk, 1200 Def, Fiend, DARK

**Dark Magician **(Normal Monster Card)  
Level 7, 2500 Atk, 2100 Def, Spellcaster, DARK

Joe having Toon Monsters is weird enough, but she's got a boy's name too?! Will we ever see her again? Will we discover where she got those Toon cards from?

...eh, maybe.

But more importantly, Joey and Yugi have advanced to the next round! What new challengers will stand in their way? What kinds of strategies will be invoked against them? Will they be able to overcome their opponents, or will their opponents overwhelm them? Keep checking back to find out!


	8. Wealthy Lives, Poverty Dies

Chapter 8: Wealthy Lives, Poverty Dies

"_...still watching the tournament, eh?...yeah, no worries, I've got things wrapped up on my end...so far, things are going well...is that so?...well, I'll keep an eye on them at least..."_

"Are you ready to lose?"

"Heh, don't be in such a rush!"

Joey shuffled his opponent's deck while she did the same with his. The two stared each other down and taunted each other continuously.

"Your cards are hardly worth the dirt on your shoes," she mocked.

"Watch it," Joey sneered, "cause dese cards are about to wipe da floor with ya!"

Meanwhile, in the observer's booth, Yugi and friends were discussing Joey's opponent.

"So she's just some rich girl?" Tristan asked.

"She's not 'just some rich girl!'" Tea retorted. "Vicky Queens is a marvelous supermodel and is one of the greatest independently wealthy people on the planet!"

"Why, does she donate to orphanages?" Tristan snickered.

"As a matter of fact, she does," Tea answered. "I wonder what she's doing in a dueling tournament though."

"I haven't heard much about Vicky in dueling," Yugi confessed. "This could be an interesting match-up."

"Yeah," Tristan agreed, "she could have a ton of rare cards on her if she's so wealthy."

Meanwhile, on the dueling field, Joey and Vicky prepared their Duel Disks and drew their first few cards.

"Are you ready to submit to my will?" Vicky taunted.

"Bring it on!" Joey called back.

"DUEL!"

Vicky: 8000  
Joey: 8000

"I know you'll be kind enough to let me start," Vicky started, drawing a card. "And I will start with the lovely Fire Princess (4/1300/1500) in Attack mode!"

A fiery woman dressed in red and carrying a staff appeared on Vicky's field.

"I'm sure you're aware of her ability to burn away 500 of your Life Points every time I gain Life Points," Vicky continued, "so now I'll use my Dian Keto the Cure Master to give me 1000 Life Points!"

Vicky: 9000  
Joey: 8000

"Aw man!" Joey exclaimed.

"That's right," Vicky said, "and now Fire Princess, do your thing!"

Fire Princess aims her staff at Joey and fires off a fearsome fireball!

"Nyeh!" Joey screamed as the fire consumed his body!

Vicky: 9000  
Joey: 7500

"Oh, I'm sorry," Vicky mocked, "are things too hot for you? Perhaps I should give some Red Medicine to you! Oh wait, no, I can only use the 500 Life Points for me!"

Vicky activates the Red Medicine card, giving her 500 Life Points while using Fire Princess's effect to burn Joey's by another 500!

Vicky: 9500  
Joey: 7000

"Alright, that's enough torture for now," Vicky said, "so I'll just Set one card on the field to end my turn."

"Heh, you think dat's bad?" Joey said. "Watch dis!"

After drawing a card, Joey glances over his hand, smiles, and calls out, "I summon Alligator's Sword (4/1500/1200) in Attack mode!"

The great lizard man brandished his sword at the ready!

"Now, Alligator's Sword, attack!" Joey declared.

Alligator's Sword lunges at Fire Princess!

"You didn't think I'd let you hurt my princess so easily, did you?" Vicky smirked. "Activate trap card! Draining Shield!"

A barrier appeared, blocking Alligator's Sword's attack!

"Oh no!" Joey yelped.

"With Draining Shield," Vicky continued, "I can negate your attack and gain Life Points equal to your monster's Attack! And you remember what happens every time I gain Life Points, right?"

As Vicky's Life Points got a boost, Joey took another fireball from the Fire Princess!

Vicky: 11000  
Joey: 6500

"She's really widening the gap between their Life Points," Yugi noted.

"Yeah," Tristan agreed, "Joey's gonna have a tough time if he can't get her Life Points down."

"Come on, Joey," Tea said.

Meanwhile, Joey recovers on the dueling field.

"Alright," he said, Setting a card, "I think I'll end my turn with dis card."

"I hope that's not all you've got," Vicky sneered, drawing her next card. "I'll play this card face-down and summon Cure Mermaid (4/1500/800) in Attack Mode!"

A blonde-haired mermaid appears on Vicky's field, a flourish of bubbles surrounding her.

"And then, with a little switch-up on my Fire Princess," Vicky continued, "I can end my turn here!"

Fire Princess (4/**1300**/1500 - 4/1300/**1500**)

"Alright then, my move!" Joey announced. _Man, I can't catch a break! As long as dat Fire Princess is on da field, I'm gonna lose even more Life Points! Time ta break out the ol' Wheeler luck!_

Joey drew the top card off his deck and looked at it, smiling. _Alright! With this, victory is in the bag!_

"I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (4/1800/1600) in Attack Mode!" Joey said, summoning out a black and silver ironclad warrior to his field. "And now, Gearfried, attack dat Fire Princess!"

Gearfried lunges towards the Fire Princess!

"Not so fast, Mr. Wheeler," Vicky laughed. "I activate the Wall of Revealing Light!"

Suddenly a magical barrier of light cuts off Gearfried's attack!

Vicky: 1000  
Joey: 6500

"What in the world is that?!" Joey yelped.

"Very simply put," Vicky explained, "my Wall of Revealing Light is a card that can block any attack, given the right amount of Life Points. And I just paid 10,000 Life Points!"

"Nyeh, what's dat supposed to mean?!"

"It means that as long as my Wall remains on the field, none of your monsters with less than 10,000 Atk points can lay a finger on my monsters!"

"WHAT?!"

"But Joey doesn't have a monster with Atk even close to that!" Tristan called out.

"That's not good!" Yugi noted.

Vicky laughed heartily. "What's wrong? Guess you're off your game today, hm?"

"Nyeh, I end my turn!"

"Good, because that means it's my turn again," Vicky said, drawing her next card. "And I'm going to let you guess what's about to happen. Let me give you a hint: it involves my Cure Mermaid and my Fire Princess!"

"Oh no!"

"Oh yes! With my Cure Mermaid on the field, I gain 800 Life Points during my Standby Phase, and of course you're very familiar with Fire Princess's ability by now!"

While a myriad of bubbles swirl and surround Vicky, an inferno burns away at Joey!

Vicky: 1800  
Joey: 6000

"Heh, but I'm in the lead after all that you gave up for that Wall," Joey smirked.

"Not for long, I assure you," Vicky countered. "I activate Soul of the Pure, bringing me 800 more Life Points and draining you of another 500!"

Vicky: 2600  
Joey: 5500

"And now I'll also play Goblin Thief," Vicky continued, "which not only allows me to take away 500 of your Life Points but also gives me that same 500! And that's before my Fire Princess's ability even activates!"

Vicky: 3100  
Joey: 5000

"And now for Fire Princess to burn away at you!"

Vicky: 3100  
Joey: 5000

"Gah!" Joey grunted.

"I hope you're still up after all of that," Vicky taunted. "Luckily I'm done for now."

"Well, it's gonna take more dan dat ta put ol' Joey Wheeler down!" Joey called back. "My move!"

Joey draws a card and peruses his hand in the hopes of finding the card to turn things around. _Man, at dis rate, she's gonna come back and beat me! I can't let dat happen, but dere ain't a monster in my deck dat can beat 10,000! What am I gonna do?!_

Suddenly, Joey sees just the card he needs and smiles.

"Alright," he announced, "I play da Arduous Decision magic card! With dis, I can draw two cards, and den you pick one, and if it's a Monster card, I can summon it right away!"

"Is that really the best you can do?" Vicky taunted as Joey drew the top two cards, holding one in each hand. "I can't believe you're going to rely on luck to bring you out of the jaws of defeat."

"Dat's cause I trust my deck to come through for me," Joey replied, "and as it turns out, I do have a card to take care of dat Wall!"

"You're bluffing."

"Wanna bet? I'm holding it right here in one of my hands!"

Joey smiled as Vicky was taken by surprise. "So what's it gonna be?" he taunted her now.

Vicky grimaced, visibly concentrating on the two cards that Joey held. In the spectator's booth, Yugi and the others watched closely.

"Looks like Joey's messing with her head," Tristan said.

"It may all come down to this move here," Yugi pointed out.

"Are Joey's matches always so thrilling?"

At that moment, the others turned to see that they had a visitor in their midst!

"Andrew!" Yugi said.

"Hehe, thought I'd check in on you guys," Andrew replied, "although it doesn't seem like you're having a difficult time."

He turned and looked through the window to the duel. "Well this is interesting," he noted. "Wall of Revealing Light on the field and an Arduous Decision activated."

"It's all up to whichever card Vicky picks," Yugi added.

Meanwhile, on the dueling field, Joey and Vicky continue staring each other down. "I'm waiting," Joey taunted. "Come on, pick a card already!"

Vicky glowered at him before finally deciding. "I pick the card in your right hand!" she declared.

Joey waves the indicated card asking, "You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure!" Vicky shouted back, a bit tense.

Joey smiled and placed the card on his Duel Disk. "Alright," he said while doing this, "here's you card!"

A tall android wearing a mask over its scarred face appeared on Joey's field, and with its appearance, a red laser pierced through the Wall of Revealing Light, electrifying the active card and removing the Wall!

"Jinzo (6/2400/1500), time ta shine!" Joey said.

In the spectator booth, Andrew gave a good whistle. "Well well," he said, "looks like Joey may have this one all wrapped up."

"Next," Joey continued, "I'm playing Polymerization and fusing da Alligator's Sword on my field with da Baby Dragon in my hand to summon out Alligator's Sword Dragon (5/1700/1500)!"

A great vortex absorbed Alligator's Sword and a small orange dragon, combining the two such that the monster that came out of the vortex was Alligator's Sword riding upon the dragon!

"And with Jinzo keeping dat Wall down, I can use my Alligator's Sword Dragon's special ability," Joey continued. "Since da only face-up monsters you control are WATER and FIRE monsters, I can have him launch a direct attack on your Life Points!"

"Oh no!" Vicky cried as the mighty lizard with its dragon steed flew over her monsters and brought down its fearsome blade!

Vicky: 1400  
Joey: 5000

"And now," Joey continued, "Gearfried, attack her Fire Princess!"

The iron knight slashed through the flaming sorceress, destroying her in a shower of sparkles. At that moment, Vicky began to chuckle.

"It's no use," she said. "Even with your Jinzo's next attack, you won't beat me! I'll have the chance to bring out a new defense or be able to destroy that Jinzo on my next turn! And then my Wall will be back, and you'll be powerless to stop me!"

"Dat may be," Joey said, "but I'm gonna go for it anyway! Jinzo, attack!"

The android held up its gloved hands and began charging a small orb of dark energy!

"And now for my face-down!" Joey declared, activating the card he had placed on the field at the beginning of the duel. "Go, Graceful Dice!"

A small fairy carrying a blue die appeared on Joey's field and tossed it into the air. "Maybe you're familiar with Graceful Dice's ability," Joey explained. "With it, my monster's Atk goes up by da number on da die times 100!"

The die falls, and the number revealed is a 5! Joey cheered at the result, "Just what I needed! Jinzo, attack that Cure Mermaid!

Jinzo (6/**2400**/1500 - 6/**2900**/1700)

Jinzo releases its Cyber Energy Shock at the innocent mermaid, obliterating her and wiping out Vicky's Life Points simultaneously!

Vicky: 0  
Joey: 5000

"Alright! Joey won!" the gang cheered. Andrew nodded his own approval. "He's some duelist," he said.

Vicky fell to her knees in shock. "How could I lose?" she murmured to herself. Joey walked up to her and held out his hand.

"Don't sweat it," he said. "Ya nearly had me dere for a bit!"

Vicky made a pouting face but still took Joey's hand and rose to her feet. "Well then, Mr. Wheeler," she said formally, "I shall hope to see you another time."

"Same here!" Joey replied.

And with that, Vicky departed the premises, her chin raised high and her dress flowing with the luxury she could afford. Joey then joined the others in the spectator booth and was congratulated by Andrew, who had to take off rather quickly for another duel.

"Hope you guys keep at it!" he said as he rushed out the door. The others continued their congratulating of Joey's victory.

"_...you think something might be up?...yeah, I took a peek myself...well, she did seem rather familiar, in an odd sort of way, ya know?...maybe run by some faces or something? She might not be the only one..."_

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Something's up in the tournament? So soon? Why can't we ever have a regular tournament? Well, time to look at the cards!

**Fire Princess** (Effect Monster Card)  
Level 4, 1300 Atk, 1500 Def, Pyro, FIRE  
Effect: Inflict 500 damage to your opponent's Life Points each time you gain Life Points.

**Wall of Revealing Light** (Continuous Trap Card)  
Effect: Pay any amount of Life Points in multiples of 1000. Your opponent cannot attack with monsters that have an Atk less than or equal to the amount you paid.

**Arduous Decision **(Normal Spell Card)  
Effect: Pick up the top two cards of your deck. Your opponent selects one of those cards, and if they select a Monster card, you can Special Summon it and add the other card to your hand. If the selected card is not a Monster, send both cards to the Graveyard.

**Jinzo** (Effect Monster Card)  
Level 6, 2400 Atk, 1500 Def, Machine, DARK  
Effect: Trap cards and their effects cannot be activated. The effects of all face-up Trap cards on the field are negated.

Well a slight hiccup along the way, but Joey managed to trounce his opponent! Can Yugi get past his next opponent? And what's going on behind the scenes? What trouble lurks in the background? Keep up with the reading to find out!


	9. This is the Tale of the Duel

Chapter 9: This is the Tale of the Duel

Yugi watched as his next opponent entered the arena. She was a curious person, wearing circular glasses and reading a book while carrying a rather hefty hiker's backpack. She pushed her glasses up and looked to see Yugi on the field and smiled a warm smile.

"You must be Yugi Muto, correct?" she asked in a kind voice.

Yugi nodded. "And that means you are..."

"Leanna Warner, yes," the girl replied, introducing herself. "I hope I didn't startle you with my appearance. I tend to do that a lot."

She smiled at Yugi, who answered, "Not at all. It's a treat to duel someone like you."

"Yes, though it's a shame we aren't using the Deck Master system this time around," she answered. "A good story always begins with a charming protagonist!"

Meanwhile in the spectator booth, the others watched as the duelists retrieved their decks and Duel Disks and prepared to begin.

"Leanna Warner, huh?" Joey said.

"Is she an author of some kind?" Tristan asked.

"As a matter of fact, she's an author of children's books," Tea replied. "She retells old fairy tales in a whole new way."

"You saying you read some of dese books?" Joey asked.

Tea nodded, saying, "I read them to kids I babysit sometimes."

"You babysit kids?!" Joey and Tristan yelped in unison, to which the response was a swift knock on their heads from a rather peeved Tea.

Back on the field, Yugi and Leanna had finished shuffling their decks and already started up their Duel Disks.

"Shall we?" Leanna asked, to which Yugi nodded again saying, "Let's do this!"

"DUEL!"

Leanna: 8000  
Yugi: 8000

"I'll take the first move," Leanna began, drawing her first card. "And our story begins with the prologue."

Leanna Set a monster on her field in Defense mode. "And with this face-down card, I'll end my turn," she continued, placing another card face-down. She looked up at Yugi and said, "Now it's time for the next chapter."

"Then it's my turn," Yugi said, drawing a card. "I'll summon forth the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (4/1400/1200) to the field in Attack mode!"

An elvish swordsman appeared, brandishing his mighty sword and gazing intently at Leanna.

"A lone knight wanders into the meadow," Leanna recited.

"And now Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack!"

The elf swung his sword at Leanna's monster, revealing herself as a small girl wearing a red riding hood.

"It seems the elf has slain poor Little Red Riding Hood (4/800/1200)," Leanna lamented. "But not to worry, for her cries of anguish have summoned a young warrior to the field, the great Tom Thumb (1/300/500)!"

With that said, a small man in green appeared, standing proudly with his hands on his hips staring down the Celtic Guardian.

"Well then," Yugi said, "I'll play one card face-down on the field and end my turn."

"And a new chapter begins," Leanna said, drawing her next card. "Now the young Tom Thumb is not yet strong enough to take down the Celtic Guardian, but with a little help from his good friends the giants, he'll become strong enough to win against him! And so I activate the magic of Giant's Training and sacrifice Tom Thumb to bring out Globerman (8/2600/2000)!"

The young lad vanished in a flash of light and was replaced with a mighty green-skinned giant.

"Now Globerman, take your vengeance for Little Red Riding Hood and attack!"

The giant lunged forward against the Celtic Guardian and unleashed a powerful blow against him! But the Guardian deflected the blow with his blade!

Leanna: 8000  
Yugi: 6800

"Yet the elvish warrior remains unharmed!" Leanna gasped dramatically.

"That's because the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian can't be destroyed in battle against a monster with more than 1900 Atk points," Yugi explained.

"Hmm, that may be problematic," Leanna noted. "But there's always a way, as they say. I will assist Globerman with the Spinning Wheel Spindle!"

And just like that, a wooden spinning wheel appeared and began sewing away, unleashing several threads and tangling up the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian until he couldn't move!

"You probably are aware of the power of the Spinning Wheel Spindle," Leanna said. Yugi nodded, noting that these cards were just as familiar to him as the Toons from his last duel. Leanna continued, "Then you know your monster is destroyed and that on the stroke of the third Standby Phase afterwards, it shall return to your field as it was before."

Meanwhile, in the spectator booth, the others continued to watch.

"Weren't dese cards in dat one kid's deck?" Joey asked.

"Leon von Schroeder," Tea noted. "He used them in the Grand Championship Tournament held by Kaiba a while back."

"Oh yeah," Joey replied.

On the dueling field, Leanna had ended her turn and Yugi began his next one.

"I'd hate to disappoint you, but I'm going to take back this duel," Yugi said. "I activate the magic of Brain Control!"

As the magic began to take effect, a brain appeared with light blue arms that extended from it, reaching out for Leanna's Globerman. Once they gripped onto him, they picked him up and brought him over to Yugi's side of the field.

"By paying 800 of my Life Points," Yugi said, "I can take control of one of your monsters until the end of the turn."

Leanna: 8000  
Yugi: 6000

"And now I sacrifice your Globerman," Yugi continued, "in order to summon Archfiend of Gilfer (6/2200/2500)!"

The green giant disappeared and out rose a fearsome fiend, with a burnt blue body and armor the color of dried blood over him. He extended his great wings upon his arrival, sparking out a small flame.

"A terrible and evil force has taken away the innocent Globerman and replaced him with a devilish foe," Leanna noted. Yugi couldn't help but laugh a little, and Leanna smiled at this.

"Well, time to attack!"

The archfiend absorbed some energy and then unleashed it in the form of a fireball at Leanna, enveloping her in flames!

Leanna: 5800  
Yugi: 6000

"Yeahhhh!" Joey cried out from the booth. "Yugi's in da lead!"

"Few points down, and more to go!" Tristan cheered.

"That's all for my turn," Yugi said.

"And so the rising action continues to rise," Leanna noted, drawing her next card. "But now I will halt your progress with the special powers of a devious trickster. I summon forth Rumpelstiltskin (4/1700/0) in Attack mode!"

A small troll wearing a set of robes and with a large amount of red hair appeared on the field, dancing away.

"And no troll is complete without a lovely home," she continued. "In fact, Rumpelstiltskin lives in a rather unusual home: a Gingerbread House!"

With that, a curious house appeared, made completely out of gingerbread and an assortment of candies and frosting.

"I think that should set up Rumpelstiltskin for life," Leanna smiled. "I'll close this chapter and let you write a new one."

"Then I guess it's my move," Yugi announced, drawing his next card.

"And now for this next part, I will help you and your monster with the power of the Gingerbread House," Leanna said. "Feed him well, my house!"

And so the Gingerbread House opened its doorlike mouth and sent out a large tongue filled with candy onto the Archfiend of Gilfer, feeding it with an overly large quantity of such candy.

Archfiend of Gilfer (6/**2200**/2500 - 6/**2800**/2500)

"Oh, but it seems the fiend was too greedy and ate too much of the house's candies," Leanna continued. "With its Attack power going above 2500, the Gingerbread House's candy causes the fiend to explode with delight!"

And just as she announced this, the Archfiend of Gilfer inflated and exploded with little pieces of confetti!

"And then the Gingerbread House blesses its creator with a reward of 500 Life Points," Leanna concluded.

Leanna: 6300  
Yugi: 6000

"Not bad," Yugi said, "but there's one thing you did forget! Archfiend of Gilfer's ability allows him to equip onto an opponent's monster and reduce its Attack by 500 points!"

A phantasmic specter representing the Archfiend of Gilfer arose from Yugi's graveyard and surrounded Rumpelstiltskin, who began to look somewhat weary due to the haunting.

Rumpelstiltskin (4/**1700**/0 - 4/**1200**/0)

"Next, I activate the Graceful Charity spell card," Yugi continued. "With this, I'm allowed to draw three cards and discard two from my hand." After doing so, Yugi declared, "And now I'll summon forth Queen's Knight (4/1500/1600) in Attack mode!"

A blonde haired knight in red armor decorated with the various suits of a playing-card deck appeared on the field brandishing her sword and shield.

"Now go, attack her Rumpelstiltskin!" Yugi announced.

The knight charged forth at the diminutive troll! And then suddenly she froze up, right before the slash would have landed! And there was Rumpelstiltskin, holding up his gnarled hand and smiling devilishly.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be careful of Rumpelstiltskin," Leanna said, wagging her finger. "He likes to play guessing games with the people who challenge him. In fact, he'd like to play a game right now!"

Rumpelstiltskin then ran up to Leanna's shoulder and pointed to a card in her hand. Leanna withdrew the card and held it up. "And now for the game," she said. "Rumpelstiltskin has picked out a card in my hand, and now you'll have to guess the type of card it is. Only by guessing it correctly will your attack go through."

In the spectator booth, the others looked on in shock at this recent development.

"That wasn't in Leon's deck before, was it?" Tristan asked.

"Maybe, maybe not," Joey answered.

"Didn't Yugi's grandpa play a similar card to this in your duel?" Tea asked Joey.

"Yeah, Ordeal of a Traveler," Joey noted. "At least from da sound of dis dat card can only negate attacks if he gets it wrong."

Back on the field, Yugi made his guess. "I will guess a Spell card!"

Leanna smiled as she revealed the card to be Seven Kids, a monster card. "It seems Rumpelstiltskin's trickery endures the force of your blow," she said. Rumpelstiltskin then sidestepped the attack, much to the dismay of Queen's Knight.

"I'll end my turn with a face-down card," Yugi announced.

"And we gradually rise up to the climax," Leanna said drawing her next card. "Rumpelstiltskin, cursed by a fiend, is weakened but not powerless. He decides it best to call upon some help! And so he calls out to the lowly Forest Wolf (3/1800/300) to save him!"

With that, a wolf dressed in an apron and a nightcap, both the shade of pink, and wearing spectacles appeared, hungrily licking its lips.

"The wolf charges into the fray," Leanna declared, sending the wolf to attack Queen's Knight.

"And gets stopped by my trap card, Dark Magic Retribution!" Yugi countered. "With it, I can bring back a Spellcaster from my graveyard when you declare an attack."

"But to my recollection, there's a serious error in continuity," Leanna replied. "I never sent a Spellcaster to your graveyard, nor have you summoned a Spellcaster during this game."

"True, but I already sent a Spellcaster to the graveyard thanks to my Graceful Charity," Yugi countered again.

Leanna gasped. "A plot twist!" she exclaimed.

"And now I summon forth from my graveyard Dark Magician!"

The purple mage appeared on the field and intercepted the wolf, destroying it with its signature Dark Magic Attack!

Leanna: 5600  
Yugi: 6000

"Very good," Leanna said. "I commend you for helping to write a stellar chapter. And now I will end my turn."

"And because of Dark Magic Retribution," Yugi added, "my Dark Magician gets sent back to the Graveyard."

Just as he said it would, the Dark Magician vanished from the field.

"And now it's my move!" Yugi said, drawing his next card.

"And now the Queen's Knight takes her time to visit the Gingerbread House," Leanna noted. With that, the house stuck its tongue out filled with goodies and fed the Queen's Knight, boosting her power!

Queen's Knight (4/**1500**/1600 - 4/**2100**/1600)

"Fortunately, the Queen's Knight is much better about her sweet tooth," Leanna smiled, "and so she is spared from the curse of the Gingerbread House."

"And she won't be alone on the field much longer either," Yugi said. "I summon forth King's Knight (4/1600/1200)!"

A bearded knight armored in orange appeared next to the Queen's Knight! The two knights crossed their blades together, and a bright light shone!

"Thanks to the power of my King's Knight," Yugi continued, "when I summon him onto the field while Queen's Knight is on the field, I can summon out Jack's Knight (5/1900/1000) from my deck!"

With that, the light grew and transformed into a young knight armored in blue, who stood proudly by his fellow knights.

"Suddenly, two brave knights joined the fray to assist their comrade," Leanna commented.

"And now I'm going to take out your Rumpelstiltskin!" Yugi said. "Go, King's Knight, strike down Rumpelstiltskin!"

With that, the bearded knight charged forth at Rumpelstiltskin, only to be stopped by his power. The troll then crawled up to Leanna and pointed to a card in her hand, which she picked out.

"As per Rumpelstiltskin's power," she said, "you need to guess the type of card I'm holding before you can continue your attack."

"Well then the card type I guess this time is Monster!" Yugi declared.

Leanna smiled and revealed the card: Gold Moon Coin, a spell card. "It seems I'll be saving Rumpelstiltskin from another of your attacks," she said.

The King's Knight's sword slashed right by Rumpelstiltskin!

"But not for long," Yugi said. "Now go, Jack's Knight!"

As the King's Knight headed back, Jack's Knight charged towards Rumpelstiltskin! The troll halted the attack and picked a card out of Leanna's hand once again.

"The attack was repeated, and Rumpelstiltskin protected himself for the third time," Leanna said, holding up the card.

"Not this time," Yugi said. "I know the card you're holding up, and this time it's a Monster card!"

Leanna smiled and revealed Seven Kids, much to Rumpelstiltskin's surprise. "The magic is broken," she said, and Jack's Knight continued his attack right into a now-frozen Rumpelstiltskin!

Leanna: 4900  
Yugi: 6000

"And now, Queen's Knight, attack her Life Points directly!" Yugi continued, and with that the lady knight slashed at Leanna.

Leanna: 2800  
Yugi: 6000

"The knights' onslaught comes swiftly and surprisingly, even overwhelming the mighty Rumpelstiltskin," Leanna noted.

"And now I'll fuse my Knights together with the Polymerization card," Yugi announced. "Come forth, Arcana Knight Joker (9/3800/2500)!"

The red, blue, and orange knights became one large knight, equipped with a long blade and a tri-tip hat. Its armor was blackened, embellished by silver and the various suits of its predecessors.

"That ends my turn," Yugi said.

"And now the final chapter begins," Leanna said, drawing a card. "I'll summon Seven Kids (3/700/700) from my hand in Attack mode!"

A collection of seven small goats appeared on Leanna's field, bleating away.

"And when the Seven Kids are brought to the meadow," Leanna continued, "they become ravenous and eat away at a monster, destroying it and dealing its summoner damage equivalent to its strength!"

The kids charged at Arcana Knight Joker, their mouths wide open!

"I activate Arcana Knight Joker's special ability," Yugi announced. "Now by discarding one card from my hand, I can negate the effects of the same type of card I discarded that targets my Arcana Knight Joker for its own effect! So by discarding Dark Magician Girl, I can negate the effect of the Seven Kids!"

Arcana Knight Joker's arm rose up, and the spirit of the Dark Magician Girl appeared, forming a shield that blocked off the Seven Kids!

"Very good!" Leanna exclaimed. "I have no other choice but to end my turn."

"Huh?" Yugi asked. "But you have the Gold Moon Coin card in your hand. You could send the rest of your hand to mine and draw a new card."

Leanna simply smiled. "It's safe to say that stories are based off of what the writer knows most," Leanna said. "I already know the outcome of the duel at this point, so I don't need to do more."

Yugi stood there for a moment before drawing his next card. "My turn then!" he announced.

"The last bit of magic from the Gingerbread House envelops the Arcana Knight Joker," Leanna said, just as the house stuck out its tongue filled with candies.

"I use Arcana Knight Joker's ability," Yugi countered, "and discard Necromancy to negate the effect of your Gingerbread House."

Arcana Knight Joker then created a green shield from the spell card to deflect the tongue of the Gingerbread House.

"The magic proved ineffective against the knight," Leanna said, "and it prepared for its final strike."

"Now go, Arcana Knight Joker!" Yugi declared.

"His sword rose upwards to the sky..."

Arcana Knight Joker held its sword above its head.

"...and then came down upon the kids..."

It then swung its mighty sword at the Seven Kids!"

"...and their lives were ended..."

The Seven Kids were destroyed as Leanna's Life Points dropped to zero.

Leanna: 0  
Yugi: 6000

Leanna smiled at Yugi. "And now the story is complete," she announced, and she turned away and headed out of the arena. Yugi looked after her thoughtfully as the others came to him from the spectator booth.

"Way ta play, Yug!" Joey said, wrapping his arm around Yugi's neck much to the latter's surprise.

"Yeah, you da man!" Tristan cheered.

"Uh, thanks guys," Yugi said cheerfully.

"Yep, well done there!"

The gang turned to see Andrew, clapping his hands together.

"Yep, a mighty fine duel there," he said. "Leanna's always a treat to watch."

"Thanks," Yugi said.

"Now," Andrew continued, "there's just one tiny little problem."

The others looked at him rather confusedly.

"Apparently, Matt's pushing the tournament forward without hesitation," Andrew said, "and Yugi, your match-up is in about ten minutes on the other side of the aircraft!"

"WHAT?!"

"Move it or lose it!" Andrew said. "With the time limit Matt's setting up, we'll get locked out of the arena and the spectator booth, and you'll automatically forfeit the match if you don't make it!"

"WELL WHAT'RE WE STANDING AROUND HERE FOR?!" Joey shouted. "LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!"

And so with no time to waste, the others followed after Andrew down the corridors to the next arena.

* * *

"...hmm..."

Matt Zero looked at the various monitors being operated by his team of diligent workers. He could see all the duels in all the locations on the airship, and his helpers made sure no one was cheating. So far, no one had been caught in the act, yet that did not rid Matt of his mysterious unease.

"There's got to be something going on," he muttered to himself. Even he had seen that there were few duelists at the initial reception and that even after counting numerous times the numbers still fell short. He began to make a special note of the matter in order to piece out what was going on.

"I'll find out what it is and expose whoever's behind it," he murmured before drawing out a card from his deck. The card was a dragon that appeared mechanical and appeared to be screeching towards him, its blue armor shining back up at him.

"In the meantime," he said, "I need to make contact with a certain duelist."

With that, he took one last look at the monitors and turned away, exiting the room.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Well that was an interesting duel. I wonder if all of these duels are going to play out like this? Time to check out some of the cards from this chapter's duel!

NOTE: There are a couple of mishaps that occur due to misinterpretations of the card texts. As such, I have made note of these in the cards section here:

**Tom Thumb** (Normal Monster card)  
Level 1, 300 Atk, 500 Def, Warrior, EARTH

**Globerman** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 2600 Atk, 2000 Def, Warrior, EARTH  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned with "Giant's Training".

**Rumpelstiltskin** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1700 Atk, 0 Def, Fiend, EARTH  
Effect: When this card is attacked by your opponent's monster, select 1 random card from your hand. Your opponent guesses that card's Type (Monster, Spell, Trap), and if they are wrong, the attack is negated. You cannot use this effect if you have no cards in your hand.

**Dark Magic Retribution** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate only when your opponent's monster declares an attack. Select 1 Spellcaster-Type monster in your Graveyard, and Special Summon it. Destroy it during the End Phase.  
NOTE: It seems that I somehow misinterpreted this card's effect, in that I had thought it redirected the attack over to the summoned Spellcaster. The only time this card is played is in the anime during the Grand Championship arc, in which Yami uses this card to summon Dark Magician Girl while he has no monsters on his field, allowing him to intercept a direct attack from Forest Wolf. In the real game, when a monster is summoned on the opponent's field during a player's Battle Phase, a replay occurs, and the turn player is allowed to target the new monster for the attack. In the anime, when a monster is Special Summoned during an attack, the Summoned monster is normally targeted for the attack, and that is the reason Dark Magician is able to block Forest Wolf's attack from destroying the Queen's Knight above.

**Arcana Knight Joker** (Fusion Effect Monster card)  
Level 9, 3800 Atk, 2500 Def, Warrior, LIGHT  
"King's Knight" + "Queen's Knight" + "Jack's Knight"  
Effect: A Fusion Summon of this card can only be done with the above Fusion Material Monsters. Once per turn, during either player's turn, if this face-up card on the field is targeted by a Spell Card, Trap Card, or monster effect: you can discard the same type of card (Spell, Trap, or Monster); negate the effect.

**Seven Kids** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 700 Atk, 700 Def, Beast, EARTH  
Effect: When this card is Summoned, you can destroy 1 face-up Beast-Type monster your opponent controls and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the Atk of the destroyed monster.  
NOTE: Needless to say, this is another misinterpretation on my part, given that Leanna attempts to target Yugi's Arcana Knight Joker with this effect, even though Arcana Knight Joker is a Warrior-Type, not a Beast-Type. Regardless, Leanna would lose the duel at this point whether her monster's effect activated or not, as if it did then Yugi would negate it with Joker, and if she didn't, Yugi could summon a new monster to destroy Seven Kids, as she would have played it in defense mode. The effect activates for dramatic purposes, even though there would be no proper target on Yugi's field to use it on.

Matt's getting suspicious of something? What could be going on in the background? And what duelist is he planning on meeting with? And more importantly, will Yugi be able to make it to his next match on time?! Keep up to find out!


	10. Kung-Fu Action Dueling

Chapter 10: Kung-Fu Action Dueling

Yugi and friends quickly rushed after Andrew towards the next dueling room, and after traversing the long hallways of the craft, they made it to the room with a couple of minutes to spare!

"Man, dat was close," Joey said.

"I'll say," Andrew nodded.

"I guess I better get to the arena then," Yugi said, and he entered through the door.

"Hey Andrew," Joey asked, "how come you knew about dat regulation before we did?"

"You should know about that new set-up," Andrew answered. "Matt sent a message to everyone's PDAs, or at least I think he did."

Joey then checked his own and saw a message from Matt. "Huh, whaddya know," Joey said.

"But where's Yugi's opponent?" Tristan asked.

"That's right," Tea noted, "where are they?"

Just then, the doors to the arena themselves began to close down!

"They're not gonna make it!" Andrew said.

As the doors were about to close, a shadowy figure dashed right under them in the nick of time!

"WHOA!" everyone shouted.

The figure stood up and dusted herself off. She wore an orange sweatshirt that accompanied her denim capris and sneakers.

"Phew!" she said. "That was too close for comfort!"

She retrieved her Duel Disk and looked over at Yugi. "So I'm to be your opponent, eh?" she asked.

"That would seem to be the case," Yugi said, smiling a little. He couldn't help it after this girl narrowly dodged death, much less a duel.

"Good to hear!" the girl called out, and she began to perform various poses as she introduced herself. "I myself am known by many names. The Elegant Ninja, Lady Darkness, the Kung Fu Killer, but you may call me Jade Weng!"

"Nyeh~? What's with dis girl?" Joey asked.

"Jade Weng, martial artist and duelist extraordinaire," Andrew said. "Or at least that's who she's supposed to be."

"What do you mean?" Tea asked.

Andrew noted the others looking at him expecting an answer as well, to which he flinched a little and said, "Oh, ya know, there are a lot of Jade Weng impersonators about! We don't even know if this is the real Jade Weng!"

"You mean dis could be just some faker?!" Joey yelped.

"Nah, she's definitely the real one," Andrew answered, to which the others collapsed.

Meanwhile, on the dueling field, Yugi and Jade shuffled their decks and prepared to begin the fight.

"There don't seem to be any Deck Master rules on this match," Jade said.

"I'm alright with that," Yugi said, and the two then drew their first five cards.

"DUEL!"

Yugi: 8000  
Jade: 8000

"Looks like I get the first turn," Yugi said, drawing a card. "And I summon Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (4/1500/1200) in Attack mode!"

A lion-like creature with a single horn appeared on Yugi's field, ready to take on any attack.

"And then I'll Set one card on the field," Yugi concluded, "and end my turn."

"Is that all you've got? Ha! My left hook could take out that monster in a minute!" Jade said as she drew her next card. "But since I can't summon myself to the field, I'll summon Karate Man (4/1000/1000) instead!"

A martial artist with an afro appeared on Jade's field, his headband flowing in a mysterious breeze.

"And now for Karate Man's special ability," Jade continued. "Once per turn, I'm allowed to double his attack points, but he'll be destroyed at the end of the turn!"

Karate Man then flexed his muscles, pumping and enlarging them to nearly twice their size!

Karate Man (4/**1000**/1000 - 4/**2000**/1000)

"Now go, Karate Man!" Jade announced. "Strike down Gazelle with your karate chop!"

The martial artist charged at the King of Mythical Beasts and brought down his mighty hand onto Gazelle, destroying the once proud ruler.

Yugi: 7500  
Jade: 8000

"Aw man," Joey said, "she's already taken the lead."

"Jade has been known to be quick and vicious with her attack strategy," Andrew noted.

"I'll now play one card face-down," Jade said, "and end my turn, which means my Karate Man's ability forces him to leave the field!"

At that moment, Karate Man breathed out a heavy sigh as he disappeared from the playing field.

"Then it's my turn now," Yugi said, drawing a new card. "And I summon forth Beta the Magnet Warrior (4/1700/1600) in Attack mode!"

A yellow warrior composed of magnets appeared on the field ready for battle.

"And now, Beta the Magnet Warrior," Yugi declared, "attack her Life Points directly!"

The magnet warrior lunged forward and walloped Jade's Life Points!

Yugi: 7500  
Jade: 6300

"I hope you don't think this means you've got the best of me," Jade said.

"I wouldn't think of it," Yugi said. "So now I end my turn with another face-down card."

"Not exactly," Jade said. "Before your turn ends, I activate my face-down card: the Quick-Play Spell Shadow Khan Assembly!"

A card featuring several black-clothed creatures appearing from the shadows was flipped face-up.

"You see with this card," Jade continued, "I'm allowed to summon out from my hand any Shadow Khan monsters that happen to be there. And as it happens, I have a full hand! So now, I summon out Shadow Khan - Ninja (4/1500/1200), Shadow Khan - Crab (4/1900/1100), Shadow Khan - Razor (4/1600/1300), and finally Shadow Khan - Bat (3/900/600)!"

At that moment, a multitude of shadows appeared, each ending up in one of four spots. The shadows melded together and formed four very different creatures. The most humanoid of all wore black clothes and wielded a small shuriken, its blue skin and red eyes very visible. The next creature to appear was entirely black, with large pincers for hands. The shadows then formed a creature with very thin legs, arms, and long fingers each ending in a sharp point. The last creature then appeared, sprouting wings and taking flight above the field.

"Shadow Khan?" Joey asked.

"I haven't heard too much about this particular group of cards," Andrew said, "but from what I do know, your friend's gonna need to watch himself."

"And now that that's out of the way," Jade said as she drew her next card, "I draw and use the abilities of my monsters! First up, Bat's effect!"

The winged Shadow Khan took flight and began charging shadow energy. "With my Shadow Khan - Bat's effect," Jade explained, "I'm allowed to destroy an opponent's Spell or Trap card on the field once per turn! Now I choose the left card!"

At her command, the Shadow Khan fired off a bolt of shadow energy at the face-down card, revealing it as Mystical Refpanel.

"Next," Jade continued, "I'll use the power of my Shadow Khan - Crab! With his ability, by sacrificing his attack for this turn, I can destroy your Beta the Magnet Warrior instantly!"

With that, the crablike creature swiped at Beta the Magnet Warrior with its pincers, sending a blade of shadow energy toward it and destroying it instantly!

"And now I'll summon out Shadow Khan - Sumo (5/2200/300) by Tributing Shadow Khan - Crab!"

The crablike creature then disappeared to make way for an even larger Shadow Khan. In fact, it was the largest in size, appearing as a fearsome and brutal warrior with a great amount of bulk beneath its garment.

"Ready to lose?" Jade taunted. "I attack with my Shadow Khan - Ninja!"

The stealthy Shadow Khan disappeared in a flash and then reappeared, striking Yugi's back!

Yugi: 6000  
Jade: 6300

"As a little bonus to my Shadow Khan - Ninja," Jade continued, "you now have to discard one card from your hand."

With that said, Yugi sent his Alpha the Magnet Warrior to the Graveyard.

"And now, Shadow Khan - Razor, attack!"

The thinnest of the Shadow Khan dashed quickly over to Yugi, slicing at him with its long claws!

Yugi: 4400  
Jade: 6300

"And with Shadow Khan - Razor's effect," Jade announced as she drew a card, "I draw one card from my deck. And now, Shadow Khan - Bat attacks!"

The flying Shadow Khan dive-bombed Yugi, inflicting even more damage onto him!

Yugi: 3500  
Jade: 6300

"And now, Shadow Khan - Sumo!" Jade declared. "Attack him now!"

The largest Shadow Khan lunged forward and landed a mighty blow with its fist against Yugi, knocking him onto the ground!

Yugi: 1300  
Jade: 6300

"And with that," Jade said, "I can now end my turn."

Yugi stood up and looked over at Jade. _This isn't going to go well,_ he thought. _If I can't find a way to defeat her Shadow Khan, she'll overrun my Life Points and I'll be out of the tournament! I need a strategy._

Placing his hand on the next card of his deck, he closed his eyes. _Heart of the cards, guide me..._

He drew his card, announcing, "It's my turn!"

He looked at his next card and smiled. "Now I activate the Dark Magic Curtain from my hand," he said. "By paying half of my life points, I'm allowed to Special Summon from my Deck the Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)!"

Yugi: 750  
Jade: 6300

And like that, Yugi's ace monster appeared on the field ready for battle!

"The Dark Magician, eh?" Jade asked. "Guess it's come down to your last few Life Points then."

"And now I activate the Magic Formula card!" Yugi continued. "With this card, my Dark Magician is able to gain 700 Atk points!"

Dark Magician (7/**2500**/2100 - 7/**3200**/2100)

"Now go, Dark Magician," Yugi declared. "Attack her-"

"I'm afraid you won't be able to attack my monsters," Jade said.

"What?"

"You see," Jade explained, "my monsters are formed from the shadows themselves and as such don't really have a physical form to be attacked. In other cards, you can't make them the target of an attack!"

"No way!"

"What?!" Joey yelped from the room. "How's Yug supposed to get rid of dem if dey can't even be da target of an attack?!"

"He'll have to find another way of beating these Shadow Khan," Andrew said.

"Come on, Yugi! You can do it!" Tristan cheered on.

"I hope so," Tea said quietly. "Cause if not, Yugi could be out of the tournament."

"Well then," Yugi said, "since I can't attack your monsters, then the only target left for my attack is you!"

With that, the Dark Magician fired off a Dark Magic Attack at Jade directly, with the Shadow Khan dispersing at once!

Yugi: 750  
Jade: 3100

"Looks like this can be anyone's game right here," Andrew said.

"And now," Yugi said, "I'll Set these last two cards on the field and end my turn."

With that, the stage was set. "It's my turn now," Jade said, drawing a new card. "And I activate the effect of my Shadow Khan - Bat to destroy your Magic Formula!"

The winged Shadow Khan fired off a dark bolt of energy at the spellbook, destroying it!

Dark Magician (7/**3200**/2100 - 7/**2500**/2100)

"When my Magic Formula is destroyed," Yugi said, "I regain 1000 of my life points!"

Yugi: 1750  
Jade: 3100

"I hope that wasn't your entire plan," Jade said. "Now I summon out my Shadow Khan - Samurai (4/1600/1400) in attack mode!"

A new Shadow Khan appeared, wearing dark samurai armor and carrying a mighty sword at its side.

"And now I activate the power of Shadow Khan Army Strike!" Jade declared. "With this, all of my Shadow Khan must attack this turn, and they each gain 500 attack points!"

Shadow Khan - Ninja (4/**1500**/1200 - 4/**2000**/1200)  
Shadow Khan - Razor (4/**1600**/1300 - 4/**2100**/1300)  
Shadow Khan - Bat (3/**900**/600 - 3/**1400**/600)  
Shadow Khan - Sumo (5/**2200**/300 - 5/**2700**/300)  
Shadow Khan - Samurai (4/**1600**/1400 - 4/**2100**/1400)

"With this strike, victory is mine!" Jade announced. "Go, Shadow Khan - Sumo! Take out that Dark Magician!"

The large warrior lunged at the Dark Magician and-

"Not so fast," Yugi said. "I activate the Magician's Selection trap card! With it, when you declare an attack, I can negate the attack and destroy the monster on your field with the lowest attack points!"

With the power of the trap card, the Dark Magician deflected the attack of Shadow Khan - Sumo towards Shadow Khan - Bat, destroying the winged creature!

"I hope you don't think you're safe from my attacks just yet," Jade said. "I now attack with Shadow Khan - Samurai!"

The shadow warrior drew out its sword and prepared to charge!

"And here's a little bonus from my Shadow Khan - Samurai," Jade continued. "Not only can he not be destroyed by a monster with the same attack points as him, but he can reduce the attack of an opponent's monster that he charges at by 500!"

Dark Magician (7/**2500**/2100 - 7/**2000**/2100)

"And now, my Shadow Khan - Samurai, attack!"

The warrior charges at the Dark Magician and-

"Go, Mirror Force!"

"Mirror Force?!"

The warrior's attack was reflected by a powerful wall, spreading the energy out and destroying all of the Shadow Khan!

"While I can't destroy the Shadow Khan with my monsters," Yugi said, "I can destroy them with my other cards, and with Mirror Force, I can destroy all your Attack Position monsters when one of them makes an attack!"

Jade was stunned, her entire attack force wiped out in a single turn. And then she laughed.

"Countered and beaten by a true tactician!" she said. "Well played, Yugi, but you have yet to beat me. It's your turn!"

Yugi nodded and drew his next card. Looking at it, he announced, "I now attack with my Dark Magician."

The monster obeyed and sent out a new Dark Magic Attack against Jade!

Yugi: 1750  
Jade: 1100

Jade smirked. "Seems you couldn't quite deal the finishing blow," she said. Then she realized: Yugi was smiling too.

"Actually," he said, "I've got one last move to make. Reveal face-down card: Magical Dimension! With it, I can sacrifice my Dark Magician to summon a Spellcaster from my hand, such as my Dark Magician Girl (6/2000/1700)!"

The Dark Magician disappeared from the field, and out arose a cute magician who dressed identically to her master, only with a blue outfit.

"And for every Dark Magician in the graveyard," Yugi continued, "she gains an extra 300 attack points!"

Dark Magician Girl (6/**2000**/1700 - 6/**2300**/1700)

"Now go, Dark Magician Girl! Attack Jade directly!"

With nothing else to guard against the attack, Jade took the Dark Magician Girl's Dark Burning attack head-on!

Yugi: 1750  
Jade: 0

"Alright!" Joey cheered.

"He did it! He won!" Tristan cheered.

Tea sighed with relief while Andrew nodded his head. "Very impressive duel," he said.

On the dueling field, Jade shook Yugi's hand. "I gotta hand it to you, Yugi," she said, "I didn't think you were going to turn it around like you did."

"Thanks," Yugi replied. "You dueled really well too! I was pretty impressed with those Shadow Khan cards of yours!"

Jade smiled and looked at her watch. "Well, I better get going then," she said. "Places to be, things to do, duelists to duel and all that jazz! I'll see ya around, but you definitely won't see me!"

She winked and then ran out of the room.

"What a character," Yugi said to himself...

* * *

...meanwhile, on another dueling field...

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Attack with your White Lightning!"

The opposing duelist fell to his knees in defeat. Kaiba had managed to win another round, but to him that wasn't so surprising. At least the duelists were getting tougher. This one tried to at least give him some trouble, but he succeeded in winning regardless.

He exited the dueling field and heard someone say his name.

"You're Seto Kaiba, am I right?"

He turned to the source of the voice and found himself looking at a young man with brown hair and brown eyes and a sharp expression on his face.

"Who's asking?" Kaiba asked.

"I'm Matt Zero," the man said, "and if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to ask a favor of you."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Well THAT was intense! And that's a lot of new cards to cover! Time to get cracking on that!

**Karate Man** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 1000 Atk, 1000 Def, Warrior, EARTH  
Effect: Once per turn, you can double the original Atk of this card. If you do, destroy it during the End Phase.

**Shadow Khan Assembly** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: Special Summon as many "Shadow Khan" monsters from your hand to your field as possible. Those monsters cannot attack this turn.

**Shadow Khan - Ninja** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1200 Def, Warrior, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, discard 1 card from your opponent's hand.

**Shadow Khan - Crab** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1100 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). Once per turn, you can destroy one of your opponent's monsters. If you do, this card cannot attack this turn.

**Shadow Khan - Razor** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1600 Atk, 1300 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). When this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage to your opponent. When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent, draw 1 card.

**Shadow Khan - Bat** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 900 Atk, 600 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: This card can attack your opponent directly. This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). Once per turn, you can destroy 1 Spell or Trap card on the field.

**Shadow Khan - Sumo** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 5, 2200 Atk, 300 Def, Warrior, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). Destroy any monster that battles with this card after damage calculation.

**Dark Magic Curtain **(Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Pay half of your Life Points; Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" from your Deck. You cannot Summon other monsters the turn you activate this effect (but you can Set).

**Magic Formula** (Equip Spell card)  
Effect: Equip only to a "Dark Magician" or "Dark Magician Girl". It gains 700 Atk. When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, you gain 1000 Life Points.

**Shadow Khan - Samurai** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1600 Atk, 1400 Def, Warrior, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). This card cannot be destroyed in battle with a monster that has the same Atk. Whenever this card battles an opponent's monster, reduce the Atk of the opponent's monster by 500 until the End Phase.

**Shadow Khan Army Strike** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: All "Shadow Khan" monsters you control gain 500 Atk and must attack your opponent's monsters. Until your opponent's next End Phase, negate the effect of all "Shadow Khan" monsters that prevents them from being selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters.

**Mirror Force** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.

**Magical Dimension** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: If you control a Spellcaster-Type monster, target 1 monster you control; Tribute that monster, then Special Summon 1 Spellcaster-Type monster from your hand. Then you can destroy 1 monster on the field.

NOTE: There are several different controversial rulings on monsters that can't be attacked by an opponent's monster. Why does the effect of Legendary Fisherman not prevent the opponent from attacking you directly like an Earthbound Immortal would? Wouldn't it have been easier to add Problem-Solving Card Text to these monsters like they did with Guardian Kay'est? What phrasing makes the ruling work essentially and work the way it's supposed to? To try and remedy that for the Shadow Khan monsters, I added the parenthetical to attempt to emulate the same effect as Guardian Kay'est, yet have it apply to a wider range of monsters, namely all the Shadow Khan monsters. Usually, the ruling when there is only one monster that can't be attacked such as Legendary Fisherman or Guardian Kay'est on the field is that the opponent can attack directly, but what if two such monsters are on the same side of the field? That's where this errata comes in; the effect prevents the Shadow Khan monster from being selected as an attack target but does not prevent the duelist from being attacked directly. So if two Shadow Khan monsters are on the field, neither can be selected as an attack target but the duelist can be attacked directly. That is why Yugi is able to attack Jade directly while she has a field filled with Shadow Khan monsters.

Now what could Matt want with Kaiba? What's his interest with him? And why are all of Yugi and Joey's opponents girls anyway? Maybe there's an answer in the next chapter.


	11. A Strange New World

Chapter 11: A Strange New World

Joey was ready for his next opponent. After the timer limitation from Yugi's duel, he wasn't going to take any chances and immediately set out to his next room which wasn't all that far from where Yugi's duel was. The others decided to leave him be and grab some snacks with Andrew, who had to leave not long after for his own duel. They came back to find Joey still sitting and waiting for his opponent, a good ten minutes on the timer left.

"I can understand that Joey doesn't want to lose a duel on account of a technicality, but this is ridiculous," Tristan said.

"That's Joey for you," Yugi said.

Soon, a brown-eyed girl in a lab coat and wearing glasses entered in from the opposite side. "If my hypothesis is correct," she said, "then you must be Joey Wheeler."

Joey smiled and leapt up onto his feet. "Dat's me, da one and only!" he said. "And you are...uh, you are..."

"Gwen Mitchell, and the pleasure's mine," the girl replied rather dryly. "Shall we get started then? I have a couple of experiments to get back to."

Joey smiled but was noticeably ticked by her last statement. "Sure," he said, "I'll be sure to beat you fast enough so you can do all the experiments you want."

While the players shuffled each other's decks, the others finished their snacks and prepared to watch.

"Know anything about this girl, Yugi?" Tristan asked.

"I don't think so," Yugi said. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno," Tristan replied. "She just seems kinda familiar to me, I guess."

"Now that you mention it," Tea said, "she does look familiar too."

_They're not the only ones_, Yugi thought. _I can't shake the feeling that we've met this girl before._

_I'm beginning to see it too._

Yugi had suddenly entered into his mind and found Yami there. "You're thinking the same thing too, huh?" he asked.

"I've been feeling it with these last few duelists we've had," Yami said. "Ever since we saw Joey's first duel even, there has been a sense of familiarity with all of them."

"I just wish I knew what it all meant," Yugi said, bowing his head.

Yami reached over and placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "We'll figure that out soon enough," he said, "but for right now, we'll need to cheer on Joey in his duel!"

Yugi looked up and nodded before they came back to the real world. "Good luck Joey," he called out from the spectator booth.

Joey and Gwen had already finished up shuffling each other's decks and had already taken their respective sides of the field. After drawing their hands, they each called out, "DUEL!"

Gwen: 8000  
Joey: 8000

"Analysis shows it's my move," Gwen said, drawing her next card. "I will begin with the Green Gadget (4/1400/600) monster in Attack mode."

A green colored robot with a gear face appeared on Gwen's field, clenching its fists ready for battle.

"And with the effect of my Green Gadget, I'll add a Red Gadget from my deck to my hand," Gwen continued. "My turn ends with two face-down cards."

"Alright, it's my turn!" Joey declared, drawing a card. "And I summon out Gearfried the Iron Knight (4/1800/1600) to da field in Attack mode!"

The ironclad knight was summoned onto Joey's field, ready and prepared for battle.

"Alright, Gearfried," Joey declared, "time for your attack!"

The knight lunged forward and struck down the gadget creature, eliminating it from the playing field!

Gwen: 7600  
Joey: 8000

"And with dis face-down card," Joey summed up, "I end my turn!"

"Then it is mine once again," Gwen said, drawing her next card. "First, I will start with the Machine Assembly Line spell card, which will give my machines an additional 200 attack points. And now I'll also add in my two face-down cards: Ultimate Offering and Stronghold the Moving Fortress!"

As she activated her various cards, they appeared on the field, and upon activating her final card, a large robotic creature with three ports on its chest appeared on the field.

"Now with Stronghold the Moving Fortress, I have a Level 4 Trap Monster with 0 Atk points and 2000 Def points," Gwen explained, "and with Ultimate Offering, I'll be able to perform more than just my one Normal Summon each turn, so long as I pay 500 life points for each additional Normal Summon. You can also use my Ultimate Offering's effect if you so choose."

_I wonder why she played dat_, Joey though. _She's giving me da chance to bring out more monsters dan I had before! But den again, she's also giving herself dat power too!_

"Now I summon Red Gadget (4/1300/1500) from my hand to the field as normal," Gwen continued.

Another geared creature, this time red and with the gear on its back, appeared on Gwen's field.

"And when Red Gadget's summoned, I add Yellow Gadget from my deck to my hand," Gwen said. "And then, by paying 500 Life Points per Ultimate Offering's effect, I summon Yellow Gadget (4/1200/1200) out onto my field in Attack mode."

Gwen: 7100  
Joey: 8000

A yellow creature with a gear as part of its main body appeared on Gwen's field next to the red creature.

"And when Yellow Gadget's summoned, I add another Green Gadget from my deck to my hand," Gwen said. "And with another offering of 500 Life Points, I summon the Green Gadget to my field, adding another Red Gadget from my deck to my hand."

Gwen: 6600  
Joey: 8000

As she said this, another green gear creature appeared next to each of the other gear creatures.

"Oh no!" Joey said.

"Your analysis of the situation is prevalent," Gwen said. "Now that my three Gadgets are on the field, Stronghold the Moving Fortress gets a boost of 3000 Attack points."

The three Gadget monsters then hopped into each of the ports in Stronghold the Moving Fortress, boosting its power!

Stronghold the Moving Fortress (4/**0**/2000 - 4/**3000**/2000)

"In addition, all my Machines gain 200 attack points due to Machine Assembly Line," Gwen added.

Stronghold the Moving fortress (4/**3000**/2000 - 4/**3200**/2000)  
Green Gadget (4/**1400**/600 - 4/**1600**/600)  
Red Gadget (4/**1300**/1500 - 4/**1500**/1500)  
Yellow Gadget (4/**1200**/1200 - 4/**1400**/1200)

"NYEH~"

"My turn isn't over," Gwen continued. "I now summon Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo (4/0/2000) in attack mode."

Gwen: 6100  
Joey: 8000

A large brown robot with a single port on its chest appeared on the field, powered down and bent over.

"My Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo has similar ability to that of my Stronghold the Moving Fortress," Gwen continued, "except instead of needing three Gadgets on the field, it only needs one to boost its attack power by 2000."

Boot-Up Soldier Dread Dynamo (4/**0**/2000 - 4/**2200**/2000)

"And now for my army to strike," Gwen announced. "Stronghold, attack and eliminate Gearfried the Iron Knight."

The giant fortress moved forward preparing to eliminate the iron knight from the field!

"If this attack goes through, Joey's Life Points are gonna drop to 0 in no time!" Tristan yelped.

Joey smirked at that moment, a smirk which became a chuckle.

"And what is so funny?" Gwen asked.

"You fell right into my trap!" Joey said. "Reveal trap card: Magical Arm Shield!"

A pink shield appeared on Gearfriend's arm, opening up and then extending a gripping claw of sorts that latched onto Green Gadget! It removed the monster from Stronghold the Moving Fortress and placed it in front of Gearfried!

"With my Magical Arm Shield," Joey explained, "I can take control of one of your monsters when you make an attack and change the attack to da monster I just nabbed! And since I nabbed one of your Gadget monsters, your Stronghold no longer has three monsters to operate on 3000 attack points with!"

Stronghold the Moving Fortress (4/**3200**/2000 - 4/**200**/2000)

"Hmm, intriguing," Gwen said. "However, because Green Gadget moved to your field, it no longer gains the power from Machine Assembly Line."

Green Gadget (4/**1600**/600 - 4/**1400**/600)

"Won't matter much, he's still strong enough to take down the Stronghold," Joey replied. "Now Green Gadget, destroy Stronghold the Moving Fortress!"

The green machine was forced to strike at the fortress, blowing it up and forcing the other two gadgets to evacuate their ports!

Gwen: 4900  
Joey: 8000

"Regardless, whenever a Machine monster is destroyed, my Machine Assembly Line gains 2 Junk Counters," Gwen said.

Machine Assembly Line (2 Junk Counters)

"And now to take care of that Gearfried the Iron Knight," Gwen continued. "Go, Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo."

One of the Gadgets boarded Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo's port and powered the machine up, allowing it to launch its attack on Gearfried!

Gwen: 4900  
Joey: 7600

"That is all I'll do for now," Gwen said, ending her turn. Green Gadget returned to her field as the Magical Arm Shield faded away.

"Alright den, my move!" Joey said, drawing a card. "And now I Special Summon The Fiend Megacyber (6/2200/1200) to my field in Attack mode!"

The golden armored warrior appeared on Joey's field, ready for battle.

"Since you have at least two more monsters than I do," Joey explained, "I can summon The Fiend Megacyber from my hand. And now I'll also summon Alligator's Sword (4/1500/1200) to the field, along with Swordsman of Landstar (3/500/1200) and Panther Warrior (4/2000/1600) with the aid of your Ultimate Offering!"

Gwen: 4900  
Joey: 6600

Alongside the golden warrior appeared an alligator man wielding a sword, a smaller fairy warrior equipped with leathery armor and a sword of its own, and a large panther clad in armor and wielding a sword of its own.

"It doesn't matter how many of those monsters you summon," Gwen said. "I've already done the calculations, and there isn't any way you can beat me in this turn!"

"Dat may be," Joey said, "but I think I can get pretty close. Now I pay 500 Life Points and sacrifice my Alligator's Sword, my Swordsman of Landstar, and my Panther Warrior in order to summon out Gilford the Lightning (8/2800/1400)!"

Gwen: 4900  
Joey: 6600

The three new monsters disappeared as quickly as they had appeared and brought forth a mighty warrior that came down in a mighty bolt of lightning! From that same bolt came other bolts of lightning which struck down all of Gwen's machines!

"In case you hadn't figured it out," Joey said, "my Gilford the Lightning has the special ability to destroy all your monsters when he's summoned to the field with three sacrifices! And now, Gilford and the Fiend Megacyber attack your life points directly!"

The lightning warrior drew out his blade as the other threw a punch at Gwen! After his comrade's retreat, the lightning warrior struck Gwen with a mighty blow from his blade!

Gwen: 0  
Joey: 6600

Joey walked over to shake Gwen's hand, saying, "Not bad dueling!"

At that moment, Gwen pulled out a small piece of paper, handed it to Joey, and before Joey could even ask, she left the arena. The others walked up to Joey, looking at the paper.

"What's it say?" Tristan asked curiously.

Joey read the paper: "You will lose your next duel. -LI"

* * *

...meanwhile, in the office of Matt Zero...

Kaiba remained seated in front of Matt's desk, while Matt himself sat across the desk from him, sipping on a glass of milk again. Setting the glass down, Matt began, "So I see you're doing well in the tournament."

"Would you expect less?" Kaiba said smugly, and then he asked, "So what's this about? I doubt you just asked me to come here on account of my dueling prowess."

Matt smiled and nodded. "Very much so," he said, standing up from behind the desk and walking over to the window. "My only request is that I wish to borrow the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in your possession."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "You know I'd never consider an offer like that," he said.

Matt nodded. "I understand under normal circumstances you would never think of it," he said. Then he turned to Kaiba and said, "But I'm not asking these under normal circumstances, you see."

"Oh?" Kaiba asked, less out of curiosity and more so to move the conversation along.

Matt leaned over the desk to look Kaiba in the eye. "I'm asking this in order to save the world," he said gravely.

For a moment, there was silence. Then Kaiba simply chuckled. "You're saving the world? Please," he mocked.

"I'm serious," Matt stated. Kaiba just couldn't help but smile, and then his smile disappeared as he too became serious.

"You'll have to try harder than that if you want to even consider asking me about my Blue-Eyes," Kaiba said deliberately.

Matt sighed and bowed his head. Then he looked up and asked, "What do you know of the Trinity?"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

A brief duel and a brief request. Let's get a look at some of those cards:

**Machine Assembly Line** (Continuous Spell card)  
Effect: All face-up Machine-type monsters gain 200 Atk. Each time a Machine-type monster is destroyed, add 2 Junk Counters to this card. You can send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 Machine-type monster from your Graveyard with a Level less than or equal to the number of Junk Counters on this card.

**Stronghold the Moving Fortress** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: Special Summon this card as an Effect Monster (Machine/EARTH/Lv 4/0 Atk/2000 Def). (This card is still a Trap card.) While you control a face-up "Green Gadget", "Red Gadget", and "Yellow Gadget", this card's Atk becomes 3000.  
NOTE: In the real game, Stronghold would be summoned in Defense Position.

**Ultimate Offering** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: A player can pay 500 Life Points during their turn or their opponent's Battle Phase to Normal Summon or Set a monster.  
NOTE: When the card first came out, the text was not unlike what's listed above, giving leeway to a wide variety of issues. While the cost was reasonable, it could still allow for either player to swarm the field with monsters, with whoever had the most powerful turning into the victor in the long run. With the rise of Problem-Solving Card Text, the effect of this card was changed to benefit only the player who controlled it rather than being worded in a way that it could work for both players. Here I've used its original effect, in which Joey and Gwen are both able to utilize the card's power.

**Boot-Up Soldier Dread Dynamo** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 0 Attack, 2000 Defense, Machine, EARTH  
Effect: While you control a face-up "Gadget" monster, this card gains 2000 Atk.

**Magical Arm Shield **(Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate when your opponent attacks while you control a monster. Take control of another opposing monster aside from the attacking monster until the end of the Battle Phase. Redirect the attacking monster's attack to that monster.

**The Fiend Megacyber **(Effect Monster card)  
Level 6, 2200 Atk, 1200 Def, Warrior, DARK  
Effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand if your opponent controls 2 or more monsters than you.

What's the purpose of asking for Kaiba's Blue-Eyes anyway? What's Matt's connection to the Trinity? And who's this "LI" character? Perhaps we'll find out in the next chapter!


	12. The All-Seeing Truth

Chapter 12: The All-Seeing Truth

"Whaddya think dat note meant?" Joey asked as the gang walked down the hall to Yugi's next match.

"Who cares," Tristan said. "It was just some note."

"I'm curious with the initials at the end there," Yugi noted. "They're not even her initials."

"Dat's true," Joey said, looking at the note. "Maybe it's a conspiracy or a secret code?!"

"Or maybe you're just overreacting," Tristan said. "You should relax! You're almost in the tournament finals!"

"Dat's right!" Joey said excitedly. "Me and Yug are in da top eight now, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Yugi nodded. _We're almost there._

_Yes. Soon we'll have the Egyptian Gods back in our possession, and then I can finally unlock my memories._

They finally arrived at the appointed duel field, finding Yugi's next opponent already there. And talking to her is-

"Andrew?!"

Turning to face them, Andrew smiled. "Well fancy seeing you here!" he said. "I was just talking to your next opponent, and she had already figured she would face you in this round! Can you believe it?"

He turned to indicate the girl he was just talking to, dressed in rather extravagant robes with intricate patterns detailed into the weave. She kept a hood over her eyes and stood rather still, watching, waiting. Yugi felt a strange aura coming from her.

_I have a bad feeling about this,_ he thought. Yami appeared next to him, saying, "You feel it too?"

"Something's different about this duelist," Yugi said. "She feels cold, distant...I'm not sure what to think, but I don't think this is going to be like the other duels we've had."

"If you ever need my help, I'm here for you," Yami said, fading away into Yugi's mind.

"Well, I wouldn't want to get in the way of your duel," Andrew said, "so I think I'll just head onto the sidelines!"

"Hey, wait for us!" Joey said, and so the others followed Andrew into the spectator booth. Meanwhile, the mysterious duelist revealed a Duel Disk and a deck of cards, handing it over to Yugi for him to shuffle. Yugi returned the gesture by handing his deck over and allowing for the duelist to shuffle his deck.

"I see the long history you have shared with these cards," the duelist said, her voice coming out for the first time as she shuffled the deck with great care.

"I've dueled by this deck for a long time," Yugi said whilst shuffling her cards.

"Yes," she said, "I can see it all. I see many things, past, present, future. It is a curse as well as a blessing. For instance, I can see the moves you will make, and I already know a way of countering your strategy."

"Oh?" Yugi said, finishing shuffling the deck and ready to hand it back to her. The duelist handed his deck back.

"Indeed," she said.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I-"

"Caught my name? It is Leila, Leila Kimber," the duelist said, turning away and heading to her spot on the dueling field. Yugi was a little taken aback but then headed to his own spot on the field. The two activated their respective Duel Disks and prepared for the duel to begin.

"LET'S DUEL!"

Yugi: 8000  
Leila: 8000

"It would be unfair to you if I received the first turn in this duel," Leila said. "It's your turn."

Yugi nodded and drew his first card. "I'll start by summoning Queen's Knight (4/1500/1600) to the field in Attack mode!"

The red female knight appeared on Yugi's field, ready for battle.

"Now I'll set these two cards face-down on the field," he said, "and that will end my turn."

Leila closed her eyes. "I can see you've set Mirror Force and Mystical Refpanel, have you not?" she asked.

Yugi gasped. "How did you-"

"I told you, I can see everything," Leila said. "I already know the card you drew was King's Knight, and the other two cards in your hand are Big Shield Gardna and Swords of Revealing Light. Am I wrong?"

Yugi was stunned. Leila opened her eyes and drew her next card.

"Now I will activate the effect of my Prophecy Seeker (1/0/0) in my hand," Leila announced. "This allows me to discard it from my hand."

After discarding her card to the graveyard, a mage suddenly appeared next to her, its robes outfitted with a multitude of eyes.

"Now with Prophecy Seeker sent to my grave by its own effect," Leila continued, "it now allows for your hand to be revealed, as well as any cards you draw and any cards you should Set before they are."

Yugi's hand was then projected in front of him, revealing King's Knight, Big Shield Gardna, and Swords of Revealing Light.

"Hey, what gives?!" Joey shouted. "How'd she know what cards were in Yugi's hand?!"

"She's a psychic," Andrew replied.

The others turned to look at Andrew. "Whaddya mean she's a psychic?" Joey asked.

"I mean just that," Andrew answered. "She has that third-eye 'read your mind' psychic power you normally think of."

Joey chuckled. "I'm surprised she hasn't been disqualified for cheating yet," Joey said. "Besides, psychics aren't real. I would know, I've dueled a couple of so-called psychic duelists."

"Well that's the thing," Andrew explained. "She's not faking it. No matter how thoroughly the personnel around here search the room, no matter how attentively they observe her duels, no matter what they do, there's nothing to suggest that she's faking it."

"Oh really? And what exactly was she doing in here so early, huh?" Joey asked.

"Standing here waiting for you guys to arrive," Andrew answered. "Like I said, there's nothing to suggest she's faking her psychic powers."

Joey's eyes narrowed. "I don't like dis," he said as he turned to watch the duel again.

"And now I will Set this monster in defense mode," Leila continued, "and then Set two cards face-down. That will end my turn."

Yugi nodded. "It's my turn," he said, drawing a-

"And now I activate the Predicted Demise trap card!" Leila interrupted, revealing a card depicting an eye burning away cards. "Now during your Draw Phase, I'm allowed to guess the name of the card you drew. If I am correct, I am then allowed to send that card to the Graveyard and inflict 1000 points of damage to you. Regardless, you will need to reveal the Summoned Skull to me due to Prophecy Seeker's effect."

Yugi looked at the card and then revealed it to be the Summoned Skull.

"How'd she know it was gonna be da Summoned Skull?!" Joey yelped.

"Psychic powers kinda goes over your head, doesn't it?" Andrew asked.

"She must've stacked the cards when she was shuffling them!" Joey said, his fist hammering into the palm of his other hand.

"She's not stacking them," Andrew replied. "The cameras in the room are monitored by the securities for the tournament. If she were stacking the cards so precisely, I'm pretty sure they would've noticed it by now."

"Of course! She musta hacked da system and is using dose cameras to-"

"Again, they would've noticed if someone had done that," Andrew countered. "Certainly wouldn't be a surprise to them if the system was being used by an outside user."

"Gahhh, she's gotta be cheating somehow!" Joey shouted.

"Well, she's definitely not cheating with skepticism," Andrew joked.

Meanwhile, Yugi sent the Summoned Skull he drew to the grave, and then the Predicted Demise trap card sent off a large psychic wave at him.

Yugi: 7000  
Leila: 8000

"Well then," Yugi said, "I'll summon forth King's Knight (4/1600/1200) from my hand to the field in Attack mode!"

The orange armor-clad bearded knight arose on the field ready to-

"I now activate my other trap card," Leila announced. "Inevitable Consequence."

Her next trap card was revealed, depicting Prophecy Seeker pointing a finger at a player's hand, specifically a card that glowed.

"With this card," Leila continued, "I can negate the Summoning of your monster by discarding a monster of my own from my hand. So I discard Big Eye (4/1200/1000) to destroy King's Knight."

After discarding Big Eye, another psychic wave emanated from Inevitable Consequence and destroyed King's Knight!

"And due to his summoning being negated," Leila added, "his effect cannot activate, thereby preventing you from summoning Jack's Knight from your Deck."

_She knew my strategy the moment she knew the cards in my hand,_ Yugi thought, _and for all I know, that was before I even drew out my hand!_

Meanwhile in the spectator booth...

"Gahhh, dere's no way she could be a psychic with cards like dat!" Joey yelled out.

"Well, yelling isn't going to do much about it," Andrew said, a pinky wiggling in one of his ears after Joey's shouts.

"How's Yugi supposed to win against someone who can see every card he has before he gets it?!" Joey shouted. "There has to be a way she's cheating!"

"Like I said, there's hardly any substantial evidence to prove she's cheating," Andrew said again. "For all we know, she's just really good at guessing cards."

"But dat many in a row?!"

"..._really_ good at guessing cards."

Joey looked at Andrew and said, "Tell me there's a way to find out if she's cheating!"

Andrew looked back and answered, "I understand you're adamant about kicking her out because of this, but there's honestly nothing you can do except to-"

"Except to find out she's really a psychic at best," Joey said, grabbing onto Andrew's collar. "Now tell me where I can prove she isn't!"

"Easy Joey!" Tristan said.

"Yeah, don't hurt him!" Tea added.

"Guys, this guy knows more about what's going on than even we do," Joey said, "and if there's a way at all of getting the information out, I wanna know about it."

Andrew, startled since Joey grabbed his collar but maintaining some composure, finally said, "Alright, but you're gonna have to promise me you won't tell anyone, especially Matt, about this."

Joey's eyes narrowed again. "Why Matt in particular?" he asked.

"Cause it's better he don't know I'm going to be letting you into authorized access only kind of areas," Andrew said with a smile.

Joey smiled too. "You guys'll stay here, right?" he asked Tristan and Tea. "Keep on rooting for Yugi and all dat."

"Of course," Tea nodded.

"Good luck dude," Tristan said, "and try not to rough anybody up too badly on the way."

Joey finally let go of Andrew's collar, much to the latter's relief, and said, "Alright, tell me where we're headed."

"Just follow me," Andrew said, taking Joey to the exit.

The others turned to look back on the duel, just in time to see Yugi declare an attack.

"Go, Queen's Knight!" he said. "Attack her face-down monster!"

The red armored female knight struck at the card, revealing Hiro's Shadow Scout (2/650/500)!

"Now we'll be able to see the next three cards in your Deck and send the Spell cards to the Graveyard," Leila said, "although I already know that you'll be sending one card to the Graveyard."

Yugi drew the top three cards of his Deck and revealed them: Kuriboh, Magic Formula, and Giant Soldier of Stone. As per the effect, he discarded Magic Formula.

"When my Magic Formula is sent to the Graveyard," Yugi explained, "I regain 1000 of my Life Points."

Yugi: 8000  
Leila: 8000

"Back to the start," Leila noted.

"That will be the end of my turn," Yugi said.

"And the beginning of mine," Leila said, drawing her next card. "I will Set a new monster in Defense mode and end my turn."

With that, a new card was placed on the field in the same position as before, replacing her Hiro's Shadow Scout.

"And now it's my turn," Yugi said.

"And accordingly due to Predicted Demise's effect," Leila said, "I predict that your new card is Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight."

Yugi drew his card and revealed it to be Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight. Sending it to his Graveyard, Yugi took the damage from Predicted Demise.

Yugi: 7000  
Leila: 8000

_Yugi..._

Just then, Yugi was brought into the residence of his mind, where Yami awaited him.

"Yugi," he said, "I think I should take over for this duel."

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked. "I don't know if she's a real psychic, but from the way things are going right now, she's set things up to be difficult."

"We may be able to find a weakness to her psychic powers, but I think I should take over to see what I can do," Yami said.

Yugi looked at him and said, "Alright. Good luck."

On the duel field, the Millenium Puzzle began to glow, and Yugi and Yami switched minds and bodies. Now in where Yugi stood there was Yami, confident as ever. In the booth, Tea and Tristan witnessed it and were surprised.

"The Pharaoh's come out," Tristan noted.

"I wonder if it's because of Leila's psychic powers," Tea wondered aloud.

Meanwhlie, Leila looked at Yami and said, "I knew you would come out eventually."

"I hope you're ready then," Yami said. "This duel's about to get interesting. And I'll start with Giant Soldier of Stone (3/1300/2000) in Defense mode!"

A large statue-esque golem soldier appeared on Yugi's field, crossing its arms in front of itself.

"I activate the effect of Inevitable Consequence," Leila said, discarding The All-Seeing White Tiger (3/1300/500) to unleash a psychic wave upon the Giant Soldier of Stone, causing it to crumble.

"And now, I'll play the Swords of Revealing Light," Yami said. "This will reveal your face-down monster and prevent you from attacking for three turns."

With that, a shower of swords composed of light rained down upon Leila's field, revealing her Ceremonial Bell (4/0/1850).

"Now that Ceremonial Bell is face-up on the field, I must reveal my hand to you," Leila said. "However, at the moment I have no cards in my hand so this poses no risk to me."

Yami smiled. "I end my turn."

Meanwhile...

Joey followed Andrew through a door reading "Authorized Personnel Only" and into the accompanying room, in which there was a computer and several monitors showing different dueling fields and different duelists.

"Nothing too fancy, but it oughta get the job done," Andrew said, closing the door as Joey sat at the control console.

"Alright, time ta expose a fraud!" Joey said cheerfully, looking about the keyboard. "Ehhh, what do I do?"

"Here," Andrew said, moving Joey aside for a moment and typing in several keys. Eventually, the monitors all showed Yugi and Leila's Duel from various angles.

"Perfect!" Joey said.

"Yeah, and these buttons here oughta be able to show you the duel through various layers like infrared, X-Ray and all that," Andrew explained. "All sorts of things to help expose cheaters."

"Man, they really decked dis place out, huh?" Joey asked, wondering which button to try first.

"Matt was very serious about exposing cheaters," Andrew said with a little smile. "Makes it pretty difficult to cheat under such watchful eyes."

"How come no one was in here?" Joey asked, to which Andrew merely shrugged and suggested, "Maybe we're lucky like that?"

Joey turned his attention back to the console and the duel. Andrew looked up at one of the screens and asked, "Did Yugi change his hairstyle when no one was looking?"

Joey looked at the monitor in question and saw Yami, which surprised him as he nearly fell out of the chair he was seated in. "Nyeh, it's a long story," he said, scrambling back to the keyboard.

"What do ya think's going on?"

Joey looked back at the monitor to see Leila's eyes closed. "Ya got me," he said.

Back at the duel field, though, Leila was meditating. Yami watched on with hesitation, waiting for her next move.

"I've waited a while for this," Leila muttered. "And now that I know of your presence, I'm going to open your mind."

And with that, Leila drew her next card and pointed a finger at Yami!

"Pharaoh!" she called out. "I will show you the future unseen! Behold my power!"

And then suddenly Yami was transported into a whole other landscape entirely. He had been transported into a world of crystal and mirrors. A bright moon shone down with moons of its own, and the mirror reflected the light and brightened the landscape such that the whiteness was only dulled by the night sky.

"Where are we?" Yugi asked, appearing by Yami's side.

"I don't know," Yami answered. "But wherever it is, we should be prepared for anything."

"_Help...me..."_

A quiet voice echoed through the world, mysterious and desperate.

"What was that?!" Yugi asked.

"Welcome Pharaoh."

Yami turned and saw Leila standing there, amidst the crystals.

"I have waited for quite some time to bring you here, Pharaoh," Leila said, speaking calmly.

"Where have you taken us?" Yami demanded.

"Relax," Leila said. "As I've said, this is the future unseen, a world in which the truth is brought to light and all things hidden are revealed. It is the world we seers see, the one that gives us guidance and brings us solace. I show you this to warn you of the future that will be seen and the ultimate outcome of it."

Suddenly, the crystals and mirrors began to shatter and fracture, and the world surrounding them collapsed until only the moons above them remained. The two smaller moons transformed into devilish bat wings and attached themselves to the larger moon, which became a giant eye that looked down upon them.

"What in the world?!" Yugi asked aloud.

"Prevent the disaster from coming, Pharaoh," Leila said, as she suddenly began fading away into the darkness. "Save her..."

"_Help...me..."_

As Leila faded into nothingness, there appeared a spotlight on a lone girl, sitting by herself. There were some small wooden toys surrounding her in various forms; there was a toy soldier, a train set, a horse, a car, and beyond that were more objects. Shelves lined with books, pens, drawings of cartoons, assorted coins - a gallery of objects all compiled into a single space.

And there was that one girl, crying to herself, holding something against her chest. Yami and Yugi looked at each other and then back at her, and they started to drift towards her. As they approached, Yami raised his hand and placed it on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

The girl sniffled a little, turned a little bit, and said, "Help...me..."

Suddenly, a flash of green, and then-!

They were back at the dueling field as if nothing had happened. Yami looked at Leila, who simply revealed her card as The Eye of Truth and said, "I end my turn."

(Swords of Revealing Light: 2 turns left)

In the spectator booth, Tea and Tristan watched on.

"What happened?" Tristan asked. "She just pointed her finger at him, and the Pharaoh just became paler."

"I hope she didn't do anything bad," Tea said.

In the control booth, Joey and Andrew looked at what happened.

"Okay, now DAT, I don't know what dat was," Joey said.

"Maybe she has more than just telepathic powers," Andrew noted.

On the duel field, Leila watched Yami as he recovered from his experience. "I can only hope that you are well, Pharaoh," she said. "It will be difficult to help her if you remain as you are."

Yami breathed in slowly and calmed himself before standing straight again. "What exactly did you show me?" he asked her.

"A vision," she answered. "A vision of a future I have seen countless times and that I wish to avoid. And I believe you are the only one who can help me."

"Why me?"

"I cannot say. You may call it a feeling or a vibe I have."

"Who was that girl?"

"She is...a friend. Someone who needs your help."

"How will I know to help her?"

"You'll know her when you recognize her..."

"How will I know it's her?"

"...she'll recognize you..."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Wait, a chapter with non-tournament plot? What's all this about? Does the answer lie in the cards?

**Prophecy Seeker** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 1, 0 Atk, 0 Def, Spellcaster, DARK  
Effect: During your turn, you can discard this card from your hand to the Graveyard. If you do, while this card is in your Graveyard, your opponent must reveal all the cards in their hand and all cards they draw, as well as show you what cards they Set on the field.

**Predicted Demise** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: During your opponent's Draw Phase when they draw a card(s), declare 1 card name. If one of the drawn cards is the declared card, send it to the Graveyard and inflict 1000 damage to your opponent.

**Inevitable Consequence** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: Whenever your opponent Summons a monster or activates a Spell or Trap card, you can send 1 card of the same type (Monster, Spell, Trap) from your hand to the Graveyard to negate the activation or Summoning and destroy it.

Will Yami and Yugi be able to beat Leila's psychic powers? Or will her all-seeing power win her the duel? And who is this strange girl shown in the vision? Is she a friend in need...or an enemy lurking in the shadows? The next chapter reveals more!


	13. Blinding the Omniscient Eye

Chapter 13: Blinding the Omniscient Eye

Yami looked back at Leila, more questions than answers having arisen from their brief lapse into the crystal world. What could he do for this girl he had never met? Why would Leila want him to do so? Could Leila have foreseen the future, and knowing she would meet up with him planned to confront him about this?

"Perhaps I should explain myself a little more," Leila said. "As I said, the girl you witnessed in the vision is a friend of mine who is in great danger."

"What kind of danger?" Yami asked.

"She is trapped in her own mind, bound by an ancient power over which she has almost no control," Leila explained. "She wandered here into the Battle of the Titans tournament looking for answers in the hope of escaping her mental prison, but I know she can't do that alone. She needs someone to be there with her, to guide her."

"And you think I'm the one to do that?"

"I think you are the only one capable of it," Leila answered. "The vision I've shared with you was but a glimpse of the world she travels through, one of darkness and false beauty. It is that world through which she wanders, and it is from that world that I wish her to be saved. Unfortunately, I can't do it myself, as I've never encountered such mental confusion before, and it pains me to see her this way..."

Yami continued to look at Leila, who had a tear slide down her cheek. Wiping it away, she said, "It's your move. If you really are the one to help her, you will defeat me in this duel."

Yami nodded. "I understand," he said, and he drew his next card.

"As per the effect of Predicted Demise," Leila announced, "I can guess the card you just activated and if I'm correct, it is sent to the Graveyard, and you'll take damage."

Yami nodded once again and waited for Leila to guess the card. She closed her eyes and said, "It is Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts."

Sure enough, it was Gazelle, and Yami was forced to send it to the Graveyard once again.

Yami: 6000  
Leila: 8000

"I end my turn," Yami said.

_What are we going to do?_ Yugi asked. _We can't play any cards if she keeps on sending them to the Graveyard like this!_

_I have a feeling there's a limit to her powers_, Yami answered. _We just need to wait patiently._

"My turn then," Leila said, drawing and revealing her new card: Skull Invitation. "I think I'll end my turn here."

(Swords of Revealing Light: 1 turn)

"Then it's my turn once again," Yami said, preparing to draw his next card.

"I'll now activate the Predicted Demise card," Leila announced, triggering her Trap. "I'm afraid that Polymerization card you're about to draw won't be of any use to you now."

Yami drew his next card and revealed it to be Polymerization, sending it to the Graveyard.

Yami: 5000  
Leila: 8000

"My turn ends here," Yami said once again.

Meanwhile, in the control booth, Joey continually scanned over the field with every conceivable scanner in the room. Andrew simply stood back and watched him.

"Come on, come on, I know she's cheating somehow!" Joey muttered.

"Still not satisfied with just calling it quits on proving she's cheating?" Andrew asked. Joey slammed a fist onto the console, provoking Andrew to say, "Careful!"

"There's nothing," he said. "Nothing at all."

"Great, I guess she's a psychic like I said," Andrew commented, putting a hand on Joey's shoulder. "Maybe we should just watch the duel now, hm?"

Joey looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, I think dat'll work," he said, resuming his seat back at the console. Though he didn't remain there long, as Andrew knocked him out of the way and onto the floor.

"Alright, now let's check to see if your carelessness towards delicate equipment did any damage," he said, ignoring Joey's groans of pain.

Meanwhile, on the dueling field, Leila drew her next card, Ominous Fortunetelling, which she Set on the field before ending her turn, causing the Swords of Revealing Light to fade away into nothingness.

"It's your move," she called out, and so Yami set his hand on top of his deck and smiled. This did not go unnoticed by Leila. "I believe there's little reason for you to smile," she said, "especially under these circumstances."

Yami continued to smile as he lifted the card off the top of his deck. "Then tell me," he said, "what is the card I'm holding?"

Leila closed her eyes for a moment. Then suddenly they opened wide, very wide. "...I...I can't," she said. "Some curtain blocks my way."

Yami watched on, smiling silently. Leila noted this and asked, "Why are you smiling?

"Because I know that you won't be able to guess the name of this card," Yami answered, surprising everyone watching.

"He knows?!" Joey yelped.

"When did he become a psychic?" Andrew asked.

"You don't think..." Tristan said.

"Maybe he knows a way of blinding her?" Tea wondered.

Leila simply stood there, stunned. Then she nodded her head. "I will guess the Dark Magician," she said.

Yami continued smiling as he revealed the card: "This time it seems you are wrong. I hold the power of the Dark Magic Curtain!"

At that moment, Leila smiled. "Well done," she said. "But let's not forget that I have Ominous Fortunetelling."

With that, Leila activated her Trap card. "Now I can pick out a card from your hand," she explained, "and guess whether it's a Monster, Spell, or Trap card, and if I'm correct, you take 700 points of damage. Although it hardly matters, as with my Prophecy Seeker, I'm able to see whatever card I pick, such as that Kuriboh you have."

Yami nodded, and the Ominous Fortunetelling trap unleashed another psychic wave.

Yami: 4300  
Leila: 8000

"And now," Yami said, "it's time for me to turn this duel around. I activate the Dark Magic Curtain, paying half of my Life Points to summon forth the Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)!"

As half of his Life Points were taken away, his signature card was drawn out and summoned to the field.

Yami: 2150  
Leila: 8000

"Now go, Dark Magician! Attack her Ceremonial Bell!" Yami declared, and so did the Dark Magician fire off its powerful Dark Magic and eliminate the Bell! "And now Queen's Knight, attack her directly!"

The valiant knight struck at Leila, taking away a few of her Life Points!

Yami: 2150  
Leila: 6200

"And with that," Yami said, "I end my turn."

"Then it is my move," Leila said, drawing her next card. "I'll Set one monster on the field in Defense mode and end my turn."

With a new monster in play, Leila's field wasn't so empty anymore. Yami drew his next card while saying, "It's my turn!"

"I won't use the effect of Predicted Demise," Leila said.

In the spectator and control booths, everyone was surprised.

"Why wouldn't she do it dis time?!" Joey asked.

Andrew rested his chin in his hand thoughtfully. "Maybe her psychic powers are starting to fail her," he wondered.

"I will however use Ominous Fortunetelling to rid your hand of the Big Shield Gardna that dwells in it," Leila continued, invoking the powers of her Trap card to deal more damage to Yami.

Yami: 1450  
Leila: 6500

"As for your last card..."

"I play the Card of Sanctity!" Yami declared. "This card will allow each of us to draw until we have six cards in our hands."

"Giving me more cards to use against you?" Leila asked as she drew out her new hand. "Even though I can't take your cards away with my Predicted Demise trap, my Inevitable Consequences trap can still halt your progress."

"We'll see," Yami said confidently, drawing out his next few cards. He looked through his hand and smiled. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Leila nodded. "It's now or never."

"Alright then," Yami began. "I'll start with the magic of Graceful Charity!"

"I'll negate it by discarding Senri Eye as per the effect of my Inevitable Consequence trap!"

"Now I will use the power of Monster Reborn!"

"I will negate that by sending Convulsion of Nature to the Graveyard!"

Yami smiled. "Now I'll activate the Necromancy Spell card!"

A pause as Yami waited for Leila to see if she would negate it. Leila looked over her remaining four cards, then looked at Yami and shook her head while smiling. Yami nodded and continued, "With this card, I'm allowed to summon up to four monsters from your Graveyard to your field in Defense mode, and each time I destroy one of those monsters, all the others will lose 600 Atk."

With that, Leila was forced to summon out her Prophecy Seeker, The All-Seeing White Tiger, Hiro's Shadow Scout, and Ceremonial Bell, all in Defense mode.

"Next I'll use the power of my Card Rotator spell card!" Yami continued. "This card sends one of the other cards in my hand to the Graveyard and switches all your monsters from Defense mode to Attack mode."

Ceremonial Bell (3/0/**1850** - 3/**0**/1850)  
Hiro's Shadow Scout (2/650/**500** - 2/**6****50**/500)  
Prophecy Seeker (1/0/0 - 1/**0**/0)  
The All-Seeing White Tiger (3/1300/**500** - 3/**1300**/500)

"And finally, I activate the spell card Diffusion Wave-Motion!" Yami said. "By paying 1000 of my Life Points, my Dark Magician is now allowed to attack each of your monsters once each!"

Yami: 450  
Leila: 6500

"Now go, Dark Magician!" Yami declared. "Attack Ceremonial Bell!"

With that, the Dark Magician charged up its dark magic and unleashed a powerful wave towards the Ceremonial Bell!

Yami: 450  
Leila: 4000

Hiro's Shadow Scout (2/**650**/500 - 2/**50**/500)  
Prophecy Seeker (1/**0**/0 - 1/**0**/0)  
The All-Seeing White Tiger (3/**1300**/500 - 3/**700**/500)

"And now attack Prophecy Seeker!"

Yami: 450  
Leila: 1500

Hiro's Shadow Scout (2/**50**/500 - 2/**0**/500)  
The All-Seeing White Tiger (3/**700**/500 - 3/**100**/500)

"And finally, Hiro's Shadow Scout!"

And with the last of the dark energy wave, Leila's monster and her Life Points were wiped out.

Yami: 450  
Leila: 0

From the spectator booth and the control booth, there was a great celebration.

"Yeah! Way to turn it around on her!" Joey cheered.

"He did it!" Tristan cheered.

"He made it!" Tea cheered.

Andrew nodded his head. "Very nice turnaround," he said.

Back at the duel field, Yami switched places with Yugi once again, returning him to normal. Then he walked up to Leila and held out his hand.

"That was a good duel," he said.

Leila nodded. "I need not tell you more," she said, and then she took his hand, bent down to his ear, and whispered, "You know what you must do."

And with that, she stood up straight and walked off the duel field. Yugi watched after her, wondering the entire time what to do. _How am I supposed to save someone I've never met..._

* * *

...meanwhile...

Kaiba looked at Matt. "That's your story?" he said.

"In a nutshell, yes," Matt replied, taking a sip of milk.

Kaiba scoffed. "Sorry, but while that was a fun little children's story you spun, it's pure nonsense, and I don't have time for such things."

He picked up his belongings and prepared to leave the office.

"So then you have no interest in the most powerful dragons ever to be?"

Kaiba stopped for a moment in front of the door and looked over his shoulder at Matt. "Considering they're nothing more than fables," Kaiba replied, "I'll take my chances."

And with that, he walked out the door.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Whaaaat? What a tease! I guess though the deal fell through. At least the cards won't be so abrupt!

**Ominous Fortunetelling** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: During your opponent's Standby Phase, you can select 1 card from their hand and declare what type it is (Monster, Spell, Trap). If you are correct, inflict 700 damage to your opponent.

**Dark Magic Curtain** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Pay half of your Life Points. Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" from your Deck. You cannot Summon other monsters the turn you activate this card.

**Card of Sanctity** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Each player draws until they have six cards in their hands.  
NOTE: The infamous Card of Sanctity retains its anime effect rather than the real-life card version, which would banish all other cards on the field and in your hand to draw 2 cards.

**Necromancy** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Special Summon up to 4 random monsters from your opponent's Graveyard to their side of the field in Defense Mode. Each time a monster Special Summoned by this effect is destroyed, all of your opponent's face-up monsters lose 600 Atk for each of those monsters until the End Phase.

**Card Rotator** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to switch the positions of your opponent's monsters. (Face-down Defense Position monsters get flipped up to face-up Attack Position.)

**Diffusion Wave-Motion** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points and select 1 Level 7 or higher Spellcaster-type monster; this turn, only that monster can attack, and it must attack all of your opponent's monsters once each. The effects of monsters destroyed by these attacks don't activate and are negated.

Oh man, was that a close call for Yugi! Now that he's in the final four, he's almost ready to take back his Egyptian God cards! Can Joey improve the odds in their favor and win the next duel? Or will he fall short? Find out in the next chapter!


	14. The First Turbo Duel

Chapter 14: The First Turbo Duel

"You're not still worried about that note, are you?"

Joey had been looking at the note he was handed at the end of his last duel again, and despite what the others told him, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with it.

"It's not the note I'm worried about," Joey said. "Just looking at dese initials again. It doesn't make sense!"

The others looked at the note again to the initials given: LI. It was true, they didn't give any clue as to who wrote the note or to whom the intended recipient was. As they looked at it in silence, though, nothing came to mind. It was just a note given to him by a strange girl.

_...unless..._

"Hang on," Yugi said, bringing out a pen. He then took the note and added two lines to the initials to form a new set. "I thought so."

LK

"LK?" Tristan asked. "What's that?"

"Leila Kimber," Yugi answered, and the others were shocked.

"What're ya saying, Yug?" Joey asked.

"I think Gwen and Leila had a chance encounter before your duel, Joey," Yugi replied. "I don't think the note was even intended for you. It may have been intended for her."

"But how would they know each other?" Tea asked.

Yugi looked down at the note again. "I don't know," he said, then turned his attention back to Joey before continuing, "but in whatever way they're connected, I'm sure that this note wasn't meant for you, Joey."

"So you're saying dat dis note isn't predicting me losing?" Joey wondered.

"Not at all!" Yugi said confidently.

With that, Joey leapt up and said, "Well then what're we waiting around here moping for? I've got a duel to win!"

"So what duel room is it in this time?" Tristan asked.

Joey checked his PDA and...

"Nyeh~?!"

"What is it?" Yugi asked.

"I'm supposed ta meet my next opponent...on da race track?!"

The others were surprised. "There's a race track up here?" Tristan wondered.

"I don't think I remember seeing one around," Tea said thoughtfully.

Everyone wondered about this race track they heard of. Where was it, and why was Joey's next opponent on it?

"What if we asked Andrew?" Yugi said.

The others looked at him. "Why him?" Joey asked curiously.

"Well, he does seem to know a lot about this place," Yugi explained, "so I imagine if anyone knows of a race track up here, he'd definitely know."

"Hey, you're right!" Joey said, and he tapped the PDA in order to find Andrew's location. After a moment, he said, "Alright, I know where he is! Follow me guys!"

And with that, Joey took off down the hallway!

"Wait for us!" Tristan shouted as the others pursued Joey.

Eventually, they came across a door that would lead them to the outside. Joey held his hand at the handle and hesitated but only for a moment as he charged through the door and into the light.

And then a roar and a blur, and they found themselves in a pitstop alongside the race track. And there was Andrew, watching the track. He turned around and saw them as they approached.

"Oh good, ya made it!" he said.

"What is all o' dis?!" Joey asked.

"It's the race track!" Andrew answered simply.

"But what're we doing here?!" Joey pressed.

"Isn't it obvious? You're dueling here!" Andrew replied.

"WHAT?!"

At that moment, a strange vehicle drove up and stopped right by the pitstop. It was unlike anything the gang had seen in their life. It had four very large tires that connected to something resembling a cross between a go-kart and a pod. There was a pair of handles on each side of a large oddly shaped gap in the vehicle, inside of which was a Duel Disk!

"What da heck is dat thing?!" Joey yelped.

Andrew smiled and said, "That, Joey, is your Duel Runner."

"My what?!"

"That's what you'll be dueling your next opponent in."

The others gasped. "Joey's going to duel someone in that?" Yugi asked.

"Yep," Andrew nodded. "Your opponent's...well, different from most duelists."

"Who's he supposed to be?!" Joey yelped.

"She, actually," Andrew answered, "and she's what you might call a professional at the sport of underground turbo duels."

"Turbo duels?" Yugi had never heard of anything like it before. Hearing that they were underground, though, made the whole thing sound questionable.

"Yeah, I'd never heard of em before either," Andrew said, "but then again, considering they're an underground sport, I'm not surprised that not many people have heard of them. The way I understand it, they work just like normal duels, except that you're not just trying to beat your opponent in the duel; you're also racing them to the finish line!"

"Nyeh~?!" Joey was greatly startled by this. While it's true he used to be in a dubious position with a gang some years ago, he hadn't dealt with them in a long time and hadn't messed with the wrong side of the law for an equally long time! That said, Joey wasn't exactly well known for his driving capabilities.

"Pretty much, the winner's either the one who crosses the finish line first or who reduces their opponent's Life Points to 0, just like a normal duel," Andrew continued. "There's a reason it hasn't been widely seen, though, considering the number of accidents that occur."

Joey just about fainted at that moment. He would've fallen on the ground too if Tristan hadn't caught him in time. Dueling was one thing, racing was another. Putting the two together? That could only spell trouble for Joey.

At that moment, another Duel Runner appeared. The rider stopped the vehicle and dismounted at the pitstop. They took off their helmet to reveal a young brown-eyed girl, who then walked over to the group in her special racing suit. Luckily, by the time she got there, Joey had arisen from his brief fainting spell.

"Well then, let me introduce you to your opponent," Andrew said. "This, Joey, is DK."

"DK? You mean like Donkey Kong?" Joey asked.

"Driving King, actually," Andrew corrected.

"But...she's a girl?"

"It's just a nickname anyway," the female rider said, extending her hand. "If you want, you can call me Monica."

"Heh, well you can just call me Joey," Joey said, shaking her hand.

"Don't expect me to go easy on ya just because you've never done this before," Monica said, turning back to her Runner and mounting it once again, driving it back onto the course. Joey turned back to Andrew, a terrified look in his eyes.

"Please tell me dis'll be easy for me," he pleaded.

"Don't worry, the course was designed for people who, like you, are pretty new to the whole Turbo Duel concept," Andrew replied. "Same thing with the Runner there, although from the duels I've seen you'll need to be on par with Monica if you wanna have even a slim chance of winning."

"Great, just what I need," Joey muttered, collapsing to the floor.

"Oh get up and get dueling!" Andrew said, picking Joey up off the floor and tossing him over to the Duel Runner. Joey hesitantly examined the vehicle before boarding onto the driver's seat and getting a grip on the controls. Gripping tightly, he turned the handle, and the engine roared to life. A huge smile spread across Joey's face suddenly.

"Joey, catch!" Andrew said, tossing a helmet over to him which he caught and put on his head. "And as for the rest of you guys, come on up here with me!"

The others followed Andrew up a flight of stairs as Joey eased the Runner over to the pit. The stairs led up to the stands where a crowd of duelists were seated as well.

"Seems a number of people are eager to see the Turbo Duel," Yugi noted.

"Oh there's always a crowd of some kind," Andrew said, "although this is probably the largest crowd so far! Go ahead and take a seat."

"What about you?" Tristan asked.

"Well, I gotta get up to the main booth and help out with the race," Andrew answered.

The others gasped. "You're helping out with the race?" Tea asked.

"Of course!" Andrew replied. "Matt asked me to take care of it while he watches. It's kinda my thing to do, make sure everything goes well, provide witty commentary - that sorta thing."

"Matt asked you?" the other three asked.

"Well, he is my bro after all," Andrew said.

"HE'S YOUR BROTHER?!"

"Yeah, I thought you guys would've figured that out by now!" Andrew remarked. "Anyways, gotta get going! Catch ya guys later!"

And with that, he dashed off and up the stairs, leaving the gang stunned.

Meanwhile, down at the race track, Joey was assisted with preparations by a small crew. They checked on various schematics and assisted Joey with inserting his Duel Disk into the specialized slot for him, as well as suiting him up with a racing suit, a pair of racing gloves, and his own jacket. After acquainting himself with the controls, he steered the Runner over to the starting line as directed by the pit crew. Monica pulled up in her own runner next to him.

"I hope you're ready for this," Monica said.

"Heh, I think you should worry less about my driving and more on my dueling!" Joey taunted.

Meanwhile, in the booth of the control tower overlooking the race course, a large group of people using several monitors were preparing for the race to begin. Andrew joined this group and walked over to a small group of people. One of them was a short guy, easily mistakable for a little kid, while another was a tall and beautiful girl. The two were overlooking the shoulders of another girl, whose glasses reflected the light of the monitor as she typed over the keyboard. All three of them wore the same dark blue uniform with a small white dragon pin.

"So how goes the administrating?" Andrew asked.

The small guy looked at him. "Not too bad," he answered. "No one's been caught cheating, that's for sure. Which sucks cause I really wanted to pound someone into dust for that!"

"Now Creighton," the tall beautiful girl said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "we're only here to watch over the tournament, not-"

"Yeah yeah, not go around beating the tar out of people," Creighton said, shrugging her hand off. "You say that all the time!"

"Shannon's right though," the girl at the computer said without looking away for even a moment, "you get much too excitable sometimes."

"Whaddya mean too excitable?!" Creighton demanded. "Are you saying that-"

"Enough," Andrew said, grabbing Creighton's shoulder. "You guys are supposed to be admins of the tournament, not little kids. That's the whole reason Matt called on you guys in the first place, cause he trusts you to run the tournament the way he wanted to."

Creighton looked back at Andrew before once again retrieving his shoulder. "I know that!" he retorted. "What I never got was why he didn't just make you an admin too."

At this, Andrew smirked. "Probably because I actually got past the preliminary rounds with my own deck and not a test deck borrowed from my brother," he replied.

"Why you-"

"Zip it, Creighton," the girl at the computer repeated sternly. "Just go duel Shannon for a bit, cool your temper and release some energy."

"Fine," Creighton said. "Come on Shannon, we're dueling right now!"

With that, Creighton ran out of the room. Sighing, Shannon followed him, murmuring something inaudible to the other two. Andrew then drew his attention back to the girl at the monitor.

"So Izzy," he asked, "how goes the computer monitoring?"

The girl at the computer paused with her typing and looked at Andrew. "It goes well," she said. "We should be ready to start the race at any moment."

Andrew smiled. "I can see why Matt entrusted you with the security know-how," he said, putting on a headset. Izzy just smiled and resumed her work.

Andrew drew his attention over to the main monitor, a large screen that showed the overall race track and the two runners. Each indicated the driver with an accompanying picture to show which runner had which duelist. He nodded and picked up a microphone from the table nearby.

"Alrighty then," he said into the mic, "let's get this Turbo Duel on the run!"

His voice echoed into the stands and was well received with the cheering of the duelists in the stands. Yugi, Tea, and Tristan, who had all managed to find seats for themselves, joined in the cheering, shouting out, "Good luck Joey!"

At the starting line, Joey revved his engine to signal he was ready, with Monica revving her own in response. The crews ran out of the way and got into the pits, while the monitors on the Duel Runners showed the race track.

"Alright, duelists, you know the rules!" Andrew's voice came out through the speakers. "First to finish wins, first to lose all their Life Points loses, and first one to hit the corner and take the first curve goes first! Now then, on your marks!"

A small light box over the duelists heads lit up with a red light.

"Get set!"

Then it became a yellow light.

"GO!"

And then it changed to green, and the two Duel Runners took off! The duelists sped off towards the first corner of the track!

"And they're off! Looks like they're neck-and-neck right at the moment, not one of them taking a moment's chance to give their opponent the lead!"

Sure enough, Joey was keeping pace with Monica as they sped up to the first curve!

"Ohhhhhh maaaaaaaan!" Joey howled as the speed kept getting faster and faster! And then, just before the curve, Joey hit the break and slid! As his Duel Runner slid on the safety railing, Joey watched as Monica drifted right by him!

"And it looks like the DK Monica is taking the first turn!" Andrew announced.

Monica looked back at Joey, who just recovered from the curve. "I hope you're ready," she said, "cause this is where the real fun begins!"

Monica: 8000  
Joey: 8000

"My turn!" Monica said, drawing her first card. Placing it within a small holder that kept her hand in place, she drew out a new card.

"And now I'm summoning Speedy Dragon (4/1600/400) from my hand in Attack Mode!" she announced, playing it on the table-like surface in front of her.

A yellowish dragon wielding two bladed arms appeared next to Monica's Duel Runner and then immediately sped off to Joey's Runner! The dragon slashed down on Joey and his Duel Runner!

Monica: 8000  
Joey: 6400

"Gahhh! What the heck?! You can't attack me on your first turn!" Joey said.

"Tell that to my Speedy Dragon's special ability!" Monica retorted. "You see, when I summon him out during my first Main Phase, I get to go right to my Battle Phase and attack you or a monster you control immediately, no questions asked."

"What?! But that breaks Duel Monsters 101!"

"Like I said, no questions asked," Monica continued, "although I'm not sure what you have to complain about. My Speedy Dragon's other ability reduces his Atk by 500 each time he does make an attack."

Speedy Dragon (4/**1600**/400 - 4/**1100**/400)

"And just like that," Andrew's voiced announced, "Monica has taken the lead not only in the race but even in the duel, quickly hitting Joey's Life Points on the very first turn!"

"And now I'll end my turn by Setting these cards face-down!" Monica said, playing two more cards on her field.

_Man, dat's rough,_ Joey thought to himself. _It's not even my turn, and I'm already way behind! I better catch up if I wanna have a chance of winning dis!_

"My turn!" Joey said, drawing a card.

"Our duelists better watch out!" Andrew's voice came out again. "They're about to hit another curve!"

"NYEH~!"

Monica managed to take the curve very smoothly, while Joey, caught by surprise, rammed up against the railing once more, causing sparks to shoot out!

"Boy, am I glad that we had those railings put in!" Andrew's voice called out. "Just imagine the carnage if that wasn't put up for safety!"

Meanwhile, in the stands, the crowd watched the race on several monitors placed over them. Yugi and the others were among those watching the race on the monitors. "Be careful, Joey," Yugi said to himself.

At that moment, Joey managed to break off the railing and readjust himself. He sighed for a moment, albeit too soon, as his jacket sleeve had somehow caught on fire! Yelping, he managed to put it out with his glove, sighing in relief once again.

"Alright den," he called out, "now dat dat's out of da way, I summon Alligator's Sword (4/1500/1200) in Attack mode!"

The ever-familiar lizard man came out once more to Joey's field, speeding by next to Joey's Runner!

"And it looks like Joey's going on the offensive, no doubt working on slowing Monica down to take the lead!" Andrew's voice announced again.

"Here goes! Alligator's Sword, attack Speedy Dragon!" Joey called out. The lizard man sped up and charged at the yellow dragon, his sword raised high!

"I don't think so," Monica said. "Activate Trap card! Brake Barrier!"

At that moment, Monica's trap opened up, and suddenly she hit her brakes, causing a shield of sparks to rise up and shower Alligator's Sword!

"What in da world?!"

"Sorry, but my Brake Barrier trap allows me to negate your monster's attack and reduce its Atk power by 700 points!" Monica explained, easing off on her brake pedal and speeding up once again.

Alligator's Sword (4/**1500**/1200 - 4/**800**/1200)

"Nyehhh, I'm just gonna play dis face-down," Joey said, Setting a card on his field. "And with that, I end my-"

"Almost!" Monica said. "Now I activate Time Limit!"

Monica: 6000  
Joey: 6400

"Now what?!"

"With Time Limit," Monica explained, "I get to pay 2000 Life Points and set a limit for this duel. Either one of us reduces the other's Life Points to 0 or crosses the finish line within the next 20 turns, or else this duel will end in a draw!"

"Say what?!"

With that, both players' screens displayed a small clock with the number 20 in it.

"So wait, does dat mean we're already down a turn?!" Joey asked.

"Not exactly," Monica said. "The counter will go down during my next End Phase and go from there. That means you have until the 22nd turn to beat me. Course, I usually win before then anyway."

"Alright, fine, I end my turn!"

(Time Limit: 20 turns)

"Good, now it's my turn," Monica said, drawing a card, "and it looks like I'll be activating my Acceleration Evolution! Spell card!"

Suddenly, Speedy Dragon began to glow and transformed, reemerging as a red dragon with steel-grey pipes and an impressive motor in its chest!

"Meet my Turbo Dragon (6/2200/1100)!" Monica called out, to which the dragon roared out at Joey's monster!

"Oh man!" Joey yelped.

"That's right," Monica said. "With Acceleration Evolution!, I'm allowed to send a Speedy Dragon on my field to the Graveyard in order to play a Turbo Dragon from my hand or Deck! And now with that out of the way, Turbo Dragon's effect activates, negating all other monster effects and allowing me to attack all your monsters!"

And with that, the red dragon charged over and prepared to slash at Alligator's Sword!

"Not so fast!" Joey said. "I activate a Trap of my own!"

Suddenly, Turbo Dragon was tangled in chains, which were being held by Alligator's Sword!

Turbo Dragon (6/**2200**/1100 - 6/2200/**1100**)  
Alligator's Sword (4/**800**/1200 - 4/**1300**/1200)

"Hehe, looks like my Kunai with Chain's still got it!" Joey said. "With it, I was able to switch your monster to Defense mode and boost my Alligator's Sword's Atk by 500!"

Monica smirked. "Not too shabby," she said, "but don't you think I took that Trap card into account? It may be my second Main Phase, but that's no reason for me not to put a card down and use a second Acceleration Evolution! Spell card!"

"Say what?!"

Just like before, the red dragon began to glow and transformed into a blue-green dragon with a multitude of holes and pipes all over it!

"You see, Acceleration Evolution! isn't just for my Speedy Dragon," Monica explained. "I can even use it on my Turbo Dragon to evolve him into Nitros Dragon (8/2800/1800)!"

"Looks like things have turned around again and again!" Andrew's voice called out. "Joey manages to withstand an attack against his monster, but Monica quickly counters by evolving her own again!"

"I'm not done yet!" Monica continued. "Using Nitros Dragon's effect, I can destroy all other cards on my field and destroy the same number of cards that I destroyed on your field!"

"So wait, that means..."

The new dragon opened its mouth wide and inhaled Monica's face-down card, bit down, and then fired a powerful blue fireball at Alligator's Sword! With that blast, Alligator's Sword was destroyed! Joey braced himself amidst the explosive inferno!

"One card on my field, one on yours," Monica said, "although since that was Alligator's Sword, your equipped Kunai with Chain happens to go along for the ride!"

_Oh man, now what do I do?! She's got a powerful monster on her field, and I'm stuck with whatever's in my hand!_ Joey thought, a panicked look visible on his face!

"And now Joey's been put back into a bind with that last combo!" Andrew's voice called off over the speakers. "And the racers are coming up on the course's most dangerous portion!"

"Dangerous?!"

Sure enough, the two were heading off towards a mountainous terrain, with the track spiraling around towards a cliff near the peak!

"That's right, ladies and gentlemen, our duelists are about to climb up Death Mountain and fly off the Cliff of Peril!" Andrew's voice announced. "But don't worry, the Duel Runners will be fine!"

"It's not the Runners I'm worried about!" Joey yelled out. "IT'S ME!"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Whoa! What a rush! Even I can't keep up with these cards!

**Speedy Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1600 Atk, 400 Def, Dragon, WIND  
Effect: When you Summon this card during your Main Phase 1, immediately move into your Battle Phase and attack one of your opponent's monsters with this card. If your opponent has no monsters, you may attack them directly. This effect activates even if it's the first turn of the duel. Whenever this card attacks, it loses 500 Atk at the end of the Battle Phase.

**Brake Barrier** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate when your opponent's monster attacks. Negate the attack and reduce the Atk of that monster by 700.

**Time Limit** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate by paying 2000 Life Points. When 20 turns have passed after this card's activation, the duel ends in a DRAW.

**Acceleration Evolution!** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: You can Tribute 1 "Speedy Dragon" you control to Special Summon 1 "Turbo Dragon" from your hand or Deck, OR you can Tribute 1 "Turbo Dragon" you control to Special Summon 1 "Nitros Dragon" from your hand or Deck.

**Kunai with Chain** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate either one or both of these effects (simultaneously):  
1) When an opponent's monster attacks, change the attacking monster to Defense Position.  
2) Equip this card to 1 face-up monster you control; it gains 500 Atk.

**Turbo Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 6, 2200 Atk, 1100 Def, Dragon, WIND  
Effect: When this card is Summoned during Main Phase 1, negate the effects of all other monsters on the field and move immediately into your Battle Phase. During this turn, this card can attack all of your opponent's monsters once each. Whenever this card attacks, it loses 700 Atk at the end of the Battle Phase.

**Nitros Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 2800 Atk, 1800 Def, Dragon, FIRE  
Effect: When this card is Summoned, destroy all other cards you control, then destroy a number of cards on your opponent's field up to the number of cards destroyed by this effect. Each time a Spell card activates, place 1 Nitros Counter on this card. This card gains 200 Atk for each Nitros Counter on it. Whenever this card attacks, it loses 1000 Atk at the end of the Battle Phase unless you remove 2 Nitros Counters from this card instead.

Wow, now that's some high octane dueling! Will Joey be able to overcome the power of Nitros Dragon? Or will Monica leave him in the dust? Find out in the next chapter!


	15. Duel to the Finish

Chapter 15: Duel to the Finish

"You better pay closer attention to me, Joey," Monica called out. "I'm playing Accelerator Drive from my hand!"

With that, another Spell activated as Joey turned his attention back onto Monica. Not much longer, though, they came upon an S curve, and each of them had to maintain their Runners in order to prevent them from running off! Monica managed to pull through readily, while Joey struggled somewhat to keep off the railing each time.

After they finished the turns, Monica continued, "With my Accelerator Drive in play, whenever a monster's Atk increases, my Life Points increase as well, by 500!"

_Man, she's definitely not going easy on me!_ Joey thought to himself.

"Better catch up soon, Joey," Monica said. "I've driven past Death Mountain a number of times, and not once have I lost on its path!"

Meanwhile, in the stands, Yugi and the others continued to watch Joey's struggle.

"This doesn't look good," Tristan said. "If he can't catch up to her, he can't get past the finish line first!"

"And if he doesn't figure out a way to take out that Nitros Dragon, he's gonna be in for a tough duel as well," Yugi added.

"I just hope he makes it out of all of this," Tea said. "This whole Turbo Duel thing is just too much!"

In the control booth, the multitude of workers continued monitoring the duel. Izzy typed away at her monitor, calling out, "Status report!"

"Minor damage on Joey's Duel Runner!"

"What kind?"

"Mainly exterior damage, nothing internal yet."

"Keep watching him, I don't want him to end up wrecking that thing."

Andrew continued commentating, "Joey's gonna have a rough time on Death Mountain at this rate! With Monica putting up a commanding field presence and still in front, he's gonna have to pull out all the stops if he's gonna win this duel!"

_Like I need a reminder_, Joey said, overhearing the commentary.

"And now I end my turn!" Monica called out.

(Time Limit: 19)

"Fine den," Joey said, "it's my turn now!"

"Oh, and before I forget, there is one little thing I should mention," Monica said. "Every time a Spell card is activated, my Nitros Dragon gets a Nitros Counter, and each one boosts his Atk by 200!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**2800**/1800 - 8/**3000**/1800) (NC: 1)

"3000 Atk points?! Ya gotta be kidding me!" Joey yelled, frustrated that this duel just got even harder.

"And don't forget, with my Accelerator Drive in play," Monica continued, "any time a monster's Atk gets increased, I gain 500 Life Points!"

Monica: 6500  
Joey: 6400

_Man, dis isn't going well at all!_ "Alright, I'm playing a monster in Defense mode and dese two cards face-down!" Joey declared. "Dat's dat."

(Time Limit: 18)

"It's about all you can do, isn't it?" Monica mocked, drawing her next card. "Now go, Nitros Dragon! Attack his face-down monster with Nitros Flame Burst!"

The dragon heeded its master's call, charging a sphere of blue flaming energy and firing away at Joey's monster, revealing Gearfried the Iron Knight (4/1800/1600)! The attack incinerated Gearfried into nothing!

"And now, I'm sure you can guess what my Nitros Dragon has in common with his previous evolutions," Monica said. "Each time it attacks, it loses 1000 Atk points. But I'm not letting that happen, cause I'm activating Gear Shift from my hand!"

At that moment, Nitros Dragon became shrouded in a veil of light!

"With this, when my monster would lose any Atk due to an effect," Monica explained, "I can negate that loss and give him the same amount as an increase in Atk instead! So what originally was going to be a loss of 1000 Atk is now a gain in 1000 Atk!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**3000**/1800 - 8/**4000**/1800) (NC: 1)

"And because my monster gained Atk points, I gain 500 Life Points with Accelerator Drive!"

Monica: 7000  
Joey: 6400

"And since Gear Shift was a Spell card, Nitros Dragon gains another Nitros Counter!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**4000**/1800 - 8/**4200**/1800) (NC: 2)

"And because his attack increased again, I gain another 500 Life Points!"

Monica: 7500  
Joey: 6400

"NYEH~!" Joey yelped.

"Amazing!" Andrew's voice echoed into the stands. "What a powerful combination! Not only is Monica powering up her Nitros Dragon to get past its flaws, but she's even increasing her Life Points and making things even more difficult for Joey to catch up!"

"4200 Atk points!" Tea exclaimed.

"But Joey doesn't have a monster that can beat that!" Tristan exclaimed, shaking his head.

Yugi looked down at the monitor. "Come on, Joey," he murmured.

Back on the race course, Joey looked up into the eyes of the mighty dragon as the Runners headed towards the base of the mountain. A tunnel gate opened up, allowing for both of the runners to speed through and enter into the mountain itself!

"And now both duelists have raced into Death Mountain! What will happen next?!"

"I think now's a good time to end my turn," Monica said.

(Time Limit: 17)

"Alright," Joey declared drawing a new card, "I'm gonna activate da Dark Dragon Ritual Spell card! With dis, I can send my Goblin Attack Force (4/2300/0) in my hand to the Graveyard and Ritual Summon the Knight of Dark Dragons (4/1900/1200)!"

At that moment, a small altar appeared where three goblin soldiers appeared! Then a swirling mass of dark fire spun around them, consuming them and transforming them into a tanned knight in dark armor.

"But he's not gonna be sticking around for long," Joey continued, "cause I'm sending him to da Graveyard ta bring out my Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/2400/2000)!"

And just as quickly as the knight had appeared, it disappeared, replace with a mighty dragon instead.

"Look at this!" Andrew's voice came through. "Joey has managed to bring out his very own dragon! This is a game changer right here, folks!"

Monica looked back and chuckled. "So you've brought out your Red-Eyes," she said. "Though it seems in the process, you forgot that my Nitros Dragon gains another Nitros Counter due to your Ritual Spell being activated!"

The dragon roared as it gained a new counter to add to its power!

Nitros Dragon (8/**4200**/1800 - 8/**4400**/1800) (NC: 3)

"And of course any time a monster's Atk increase, I gain Life Points!"

Monica: 8000  
Joey: 6400

"If I were you, I'd think carefully about my next move," Monica said. Joey merely nodded, calling out, "I'm ending my turn here."

(Time Limit: 16)

"Heh, typical," Monica said, drawing a new card. "Yet another opponent that seems to be just out of my league."

"Hey, cut me some slack! I'm new to dis Turbo Dueling thing," Joey yelled back.

"Never you mind that," Monica said. "Cause I'm activating the Card of Sanctity, giving us both a hand of six cards!"

A shower of golden sparkles rained down as both players drew six cards. At that moment, Nitros Dragon roared with power as it gained a new counter and showered Monica with even more Life Points!

Nitros Dragon (8/**4400**/1800 - 8/**4600**/1800) (NC: 4)

Monica: 8500  
Joey: 6400

"Looks like I'm about to get even stronger!" Monica said, smiling at her hand. "I now Special Summon Twin Dragon Engine (4/0/2000)!"

A small double-headed engine-shaped dragon appeared, roaring from both of its mouth!

"Since I have a Level 8 Dragon on my field," Monica explained, "I can Special Summon Twin Dragon Engine from my hand. And since I Special Summoned a monster, I can also Special Summon Rapid-Wing Dragon (2/900/500) in Attack mode!"

A small, thin, and frail blue dragon appeared, twittering about in the air, flapping its wings as quick as a hummingbird.

"With all of that out of the way, I now summon Accelerant Dragon (4/1900/1000) to the field!" Monica continued, bringing forth another blue dragon, though this one was long and tubular, gripping onto two small bottle-shaped rockets.

"Astounding! Monica has managed to summon out three monsters in a single turn!" Andrew's voice called out. "What will she bring out next?"

Monica smiled. "Sorry, Joey, but I've been known to be an impatient person," she said. "So I think I'm gonna end this duel here and now!"

A loud collective gasp occurred. "Is this it?!" Andrew's voice called out. "Is she declaring a final turn?!"

"I'm gonna sacrifice my Twin Dragon Engine and my Accelerant Dragon for their special abilities!" Monica declared, as both monsters flew up and attached themselves to her Nitros Dragon. "During this turn, I can give one of my monsters a major power boost. My Accelerant Dragon contributes 1000 Atk to my Nitros Dragon, while Twin Dragon Engine fires up another 2000 Atk, for a total of 3000 extra Atk points!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**4600**/1800 - 8/**7600**/1800) (NC: 4)

Monica: 9500  
Joey: 6400

"NYEH~!" Joey yelped.

"There's no way Joey can beat that!" Tristan exclaimed.

"And now, Nitros Dragon!" Monica declared. "Nitros Flame Burst!"

The mighty dragon prepared its attack again, preparing once again to incinerate Joey's monster!

"Hehehe, I was waiting for dat!" Joey replied. "Activate Trap card: Magical Arm Shield!"

Suddenly a small pink shield appeared, extending a metal spring limb towards Rapid-Wing Dragon, grabbing it off of Monica's field!

"And now I get to redirect da attack back at your own monster!" Joey said. "Take dis!"

Yet just as Nitros Dragon was about to unleash its attack, it suddenly stopped again.

"What the heck?"

"Sorry," Monica said, "but I know better than to rush into a battle I'd lose. That's why I activated the Sudden Stop card, which stops my monster's attack before it can do any harm. And since Sudden Stop's a Spell card as well, you know what that means."

Nitros Dragon (8/**7600**/1800 - 8/**7800**/1800) (NC: 5)

Monica: 10000  
Joey: 6400

"Oh man!" Andrew's voice cried out. "10,000 Life Points! I know we started out big, but considering what she's gone through to get there, this is an impressive lead!"

"And now that my Battle Phase is over," Monica continued, "Rapid-Wing Dragon is mine again. And then I can Set this card face-down before ending my turn."

Nitros Dragon (8/**7800**/1800 - 8/**4800**/1800) (NC: 5)

(Time Limit: 15)

As Nitros Dragon's Atk went down, Joey breathed a small sigh of relief. _At least it's not too strong now,_ he thought. _But I still need ta come up with a game plan if I'm gonna take down dat dragon! Which I think with dese cards, I might be able to pull something off!_

"Here goes!" he called out, drawing a card. "I'm starting out with my other face-down! Metalmorph!"

A curious steely gray blob appeared from the Trap card and coated Red-Eyes Black Dragon, with the dragon roaring in approval.

"With dis," Joey explained, "my Red-Eyes gets a little power boost of 300 Atk and Def points!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/**2400**/2000 - 7/**2700**/2300)

"Don't forget any time a monster's Atk increases," Monica said, "I gain 500 Life Points from Accelerator Drive!"

Monica: 10500  
Joey: 6400

"Cool your jets, I ain't done yet!" Joey said. "Now-"

"They're heading for the big turn!" Andrew's voice called out suddenly.

"NYEH!"

Sure enough, a large curve could be seen up ahead, and the two riders prepared to turn. Monica, caught off-guard somewhat by the call, narrowly missed the railing, while Joey-

"What's this? I think we're about to have an upset here folks!" Andrew's voice called out.

"What's Joey up to?" Tristan wondered.

"I think he's about to make his comeback!" Yugi exclaimed.

Sure enough, on the monitors, Joey had sped up, turned, and passed Monica, gaining the lead!

"Unbelievable! Joey has somehow managed to get in front of Monica, securing a lead on Death Mountain!" Andrew's voice cried out.

Meanwhile, on the course, Joey continued his move by saying, "And now I'm gonna keep up the pace by activating my Dragon Nails card, equipping it to my Red-Eyes and giving him another 600 Atk points!"

"Good, cause that means more Life Points and more power for me!" Monica said as Nitros Dragon received another counter.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/**2700**/2300 - 7/**3300**/2300)  
Nitros Dragon (8/**4800**/1800 - 8/**5000**/1800) (NC: 6)

Monica: 11500  
Joey: 6400

"Hehe, well dat's da thing, isn't it?" Joey said. "Your monster's power comes from all dose counters! So what if I just took em away?"

"What are you talking about?" Monica called back.

"I'm talking about dis!" Joey said. "I'm activating my Counter Cleaner Spell card!"

Suddenly, a giant Pot of Greed transformed into a vacuum cleaner began snorting up on the field! The force of the vacuum sucked up all of Nitros Dragon's counters, which flew into the cleaner's nostrils!

"By paying 500 of my Life Points," Joey explained, "I'm able ta rid da field of any counters, including your monster's Nitros Counters!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**5000**/1800 - 8/**3800**/1800) (NC: 0)

Monica: 11500  
Joey: 5900

"So what if you take away my monster's counters," Monica said, "you still don't have enough Atk to beat it! And since you activated a Spell anyway, my Nitros Dragon gains back a counter, and I get 500 Life Points!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**3800**/1800 - 8/**4000**/1800) (NC: 1)

Monica: 12000  
Joey: 5900

"Oh contraire!" Joey called back. "With Metalmorph, when my Red-Eyes attacks, he can gain even more Atk points based on half of da Atk of da monster it battles with!"

"Which means..."

"Which means I'm about ta take down dat Nitros Dragon!" Joey called out. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Inferno Fire Blast!"

With the attack declared, the mighty dragon charged up a powerful fireball, one that got even stronger as Metalmorph absorbed the attack power of Nitros Dragon!

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/**3300**/2300 - 7/**5300**/2300)

Monica: 12500  
Joey: 5900

"Sorry, Joey," Monica said, "but I'm not about to let you get away with beating my monster just like that! I activate the Drift Barrier Trap card!"

"Say what?!"

Suddenly, Monica began to drift, and a new series of sparks appeared, blanketing Nitros Dragon in their path! Just as Red-Eyes managed to fire off its attack, the sparks had already been prepared to reflect the attack!

"With Drift Barrier," Monica explained, "I can negate your monster's attack and then draw 1 new card from my deck. Sorry, but it seems your attempt at beating me just failed!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/**5300**/2300 - 7/**3300**/2300)

"Dangit," Joey cursed. "Looks like I'm going back to defense. I play dese three cards face-down, and end my turn!"

(Time Limit: 14)

"Alright then, looks like it's back to me!" Monica said, drawing a card. "And I'll play my Nitro Boost card!"

Monica: 4500  
Joey: 5900

"Nyeh? What gives?" Joey asked.

Monica simply smiled. "I can use Nitro Boost to pay any amount of Life Points in multiples of 1000," she explained, "and for every 1000 Life Points, I can add a Nitros Counter to my Nitros Dragon! And you know what that means!"

"Oh no!"

The dragon suddenly grew in strength, igniting the air around it into a blue fiery inferno!

Nitros Dragon (8/**4000**/1800 - 8/**5600**/1800) (NC: 1 - 9)

Monica: 5000  
Joey: 5900

"And of course, since I used a Spell card," Monica continued, "you can guess what happens now!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**5600**/1800 - 8/**5800**/1800) (NC: 10)

Monica: 5500  
Joey: 5900

"Now go! Nitros Dragon! Attack with Nitros Flame Burst!"

The powerful dragon charged up a new flame, ready to strike!

"Looks like I got no choice den but to use dis Trap card!" Joey said. "I activate Compensation Mediation!"

Suddenly, the attack stopped as the trap triggered!

"With dis card," Joey explained, "you get to pick two cards from your Graveyard and den we shuffle all three cards together. If I pick out my card, den da Battle Phase ends!"

"Taking another big risk," Monica noted. "But there's no way you'll be able to get away with it."

"We'll see about that!"

Monica withdrew Gear Shift and Brake Barrier from her Graveyard, setting them on her field. The system took over, shuffling all three cards around until finally it stopped.

"This is gonna be big, folks!" Andrew's voice called out. "Joey's pulling out another risky move in order to stop Monica's attack! And they're nearing the top of the mountain!"

"Alright," Joey said, "I'm gonna be pick the card on the left!"

Slowly, the card on Joey's left revealed itself, and it was-

"Oh yeah!"

"Impossible!"

"Unbelievable! Joey has managed to pick out his card from the three, halting the Battle Phase!"

"Yeah! You da man Joey!" Tristan hollered from the sidelines.

"Keep it up, Joey!" Tea cheered.

Back on the racetrack, Monica placed her two cards onto the top of her deck. "You may have stopped my attack, but you haven't stopped me! I'll switch Rapid-Wing Dragon to Defense mode and equip my Nitros Dragon with Cooling Agent!"

Rapid-Wing Dragon (2/**900**/500 - 2/900/**500**)

A small blue box appeared, attaching itself to Nitros Dragon's back and feeding blue tubes into its body!

"With this, whenever my Nitros Dragon would lose Atk points," Monica explained, "I can pay 500 LP to negate the loss. And now I'll Set one card and activate Hyperdrive Highway!"

Suddenly, the tunnel became engulfed in a shade of purple! The tires of the runners began to glow in an odd greenish color!

"What's going on?" Joey asked.

"My Hyperdrive Highway is what's going on," Monica explained. "Now during the End Phase of each of our turns, all monsters on the field will lose 500 Atk points!"

"Say what?!"

"And that's not all," Monica continued. "Since I've activated two Spells this turn, my Nitros Dragon gains two more Nitros Counters, and that means-"

"I know what comes next!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**5800**/1800 - 8/**6200**/1800) (NC: 12)

Monica: 6500  
Joey: 5900

"I'd hurry up and come with that strategy you were aiming for to beat me with!" Monica taunted. "I'll end my turn here, triggering Hyperdrive Highway's effect! But I'll pay 500 Life Points in order to keep Nitros Dragon's Atk from going down!"

Monica: 6000  
Joey: 5900

Rapid-Wing Dragon (2/900/**500** - 2/400/**500**)  
Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/**3300**/2300 - 7/**2800**/2300)

(Time Limit: 13)

"Well Joey? What's it gonna be?" Monica taunted.

"I'll tell ya what it's gonna be! It's gonna Joey Wheeler turn-back time!" Joey called out, drawing his next card. "My move!"

Looking at the card he drew, Joey smiled. "Looks like I'm gonna get rid of dat dragon for real dis time!" he said. "I'm activating Shield & Sword, reversing da stats of our monsters!"

"You're doing what?!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**6200**/1800 - 8/**5200**/2800) (NC: 12)  
Rapid-Wing Dragon (2/400/**500** - 2/500/**400**)  
Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/**2800**/2300 - 7/**2400**/2400)

"So you evened up your monster's stats for what little good it'll do you," Monica said. "Big deal, especially considering my monster keeps his power boost at full strength and gains even more from your Shield & Sword!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**5200**/2800 - 8/**5400**/2800) (NC: 13)

Monica: 6500  
Joey: 5900

"Dat may be," Joey said, "but I'm still gonna be able to take him out!"

"You're bluffing!"

"Am I? I summon Rocket Warrior (4/1500/1200) to da field in Attack mode!"

A small green warrior shaped like a rocket and wielding a shield and sword of its own appeared on the field!

"And now I activate my Graceful Dice card!"

One of the face-down cards activated, summoning a chibi fairy appeared and rolled a small die!

"You better hope you get at least a 4 then," Monica said. "Cause with that card's activation, my monster's power grows!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**5400**/2800 - 8/**5600**/2800) (NC: 14)

Monica: 7000  
Joey: 5900

"Don't worry," Joey said. "I've got that under control! Go, Graceful Dice!"

The die landed and spun around rapidly on the moving field, finally landing on-

"A 6!"

"No way!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/**2400**/2400 - 7/**3000**/2400)  
Rocket Warrior (4/**1500**/1200 - 4/**2100**/1200)  
Nitros Dragon (8/**5600**/2800 - 8/**5800**/2800) (NC: 15)

Monica: 7500  
Joey: 5900

"Unbelievable! Joey's pulling out one maneuver after another! It's unreal!" Andrew's voice called out over the speakers.

"And now I'm gonna attack with my Rocket Warrior!" Joey declared. "Go, hit dat Nitros Dragon and reduce its Atk points!"

The warrior's armor converged and formed a rocket exterior to protect the warrior inside! A fiery ignition exploded from beneath the rocket, launching it at Nitros Dragon with a powerful force!

"With dis, Rocket Warrior can negate any battle damage to itself and reduce your monster's Atk points by 500!" Joey explained.

"I hope you haven't forgotten my Cooling Agent while calculating all of this," Monica said. "By paying 500 Life Points, I can negate the loss in Atk points!"

As Rocket Warrior tore through Nitros Dragon, the Cooling Agent poured blue liquid into it, negating the loss in power!

Monica: 7000  
Joey: 5900

"I didn't forget about dat!" Joey said, smiling. "Go, Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Inferno Fire Blast!"

The powerful dragon charged up its fireball once more, with Metalmorph absorbing even more power for it to use!

Red-Eyes Black Dragon (7/**3000**/2400 - 7/**5800**/2400)

Monica: 7500  
Joey: 5900

"And now for my Trap! Go, Skull Dice!" Joey called out, bringing out a small devilish creature with a new die to roll! It tossed the die into the air and it landed on the ground - another 6!

"Sorry Joey," Monica said, "but you're not going to reduce my monster's Atk just like that! I use Cooling Agent to negate the loss!"

Monica: 7000  
Joey: 5900

Rapid-Wing Dragon (2/500/**400** - 2/0/**0**)

"Alright! Dat dragon's history!" Joey called out. "Go, Red-Eyes!"

At that moment, the dragon released its devastating fireball towards Nitros Dragon!"

"Activate Trap Card!"

"What?!"

Monica triggered a new trap to counter Joey's attack! "Overheat!"

Suddenly, Nitros Dragon's blue and green skin turned into a fierce shade of red, fire bellowed out from its pores, and it roared fiercely!

Nitros Dragon (8/**5600**/2800 - 8/**11200**/2800) (NC: 14)

"OH MAN! Monica's countering Joey's attack by doubling her own monster's Atk!" Andrew's voice called out.

"WHAT THE-?!"

Red-Eyes' fireball was deflected by Nitros Dragon, who decimated Red-Eyes with its own counterattack!

"My Red-Eyes! Gahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Monica: 7000  
Joey: 500

With the damage from the attack hitting hard, Joey's runner swerved and lost a lot of speed, allowing for Monica to take the lead!

"It looks like Monica's taking back the duel with this move!" Andrew's voice called out. "By countering his attack, she's nearly taken Joey out of the race! Joey's barely holding on!"

"Oh man, Joey," Tristan said.

"That was a really hard hit he took just now," Yugi noted.

"I hope he's okay," Tea wished.

Back in the control room, the monitors checked up on the status of Joey's runner.

"It's stable for now," one of them called out.

"I think he'll be alright!" another called out.

"What's the damage report?" Izzy asked.

"Some minor damage internally, some more externally, but overall it should hold out!" another called.

Izzy sighed. "This duel's intense," she said to herself. "I believe I'll be napping after this."

Andrew simply smiled and went back to commenting. "And it looks like our racers are about to enter onto the Cliff of Peril and the final leg of this race!"

Sure enough, the two exited the tunnel, Monica in the lead, Joey having fallen behind! Monica smiled and called out, "Looks like this duel's gonna end faster than I thought it would!"

Joey looked up with a snarl. "You haven't won yet!" he said. "I play Roll of Fate, rolling a die in order to get the same number of cards from my deck, then sending the same number from the top of my deck to the Graveyard!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**11200**/2800 - 8/**11400**/2800) (NC: 15)

Monica: 7500  
Joey: 500

An arm appeared out of the card and tossed a die, landing on a 4!

"Alright, 4 cards to draw, 4 cards to my Graveyard," Joey said, doing as such. Perusing his new hand, Joey smiled. "I'm gonna Set dis card and end my turn!" he declared.

(Time Limit: 12)

At that moment, Nitros Dragon's red skin faded into black as the beast flew lower to the field.

Nitros Dragon (8/**11400**/2800 - 8/**0**/1800) (NC: 15)  
Rapid-Wing Dragon (2/500/**400** - 2/0/**500**)  
Rocket Warrior (4/**2100**/1200 - 4/**1000**/1200)

"Nyeh?"

"Did you see that?" Tristan asked.

"Its Atk power went down to nothing!" Tea noted.

Suddenly, the power of the highway tore through Rapid-Wing Dragon, destroying it!

"Nyeh?!"

Monica explained, "It's the effect of both Hyperdrive Highway and my Overheat! card. With Overheat!, my Nitros Dragon's Atk becomes 0 during the End Phase. As a result, Hyperdrive Highway can't reduce its Atk any further, so there's no need to pay for Cooling Agent. Then the other effect of Hyperdrive Highway activated on my Rapid-Wing Dragon. You see, when a monster's Atk becomes 0 by its effect, Hyperdrive Highway destroys that monster."

"Dang, dat's brutal!" Joey said.

"That's all I can really do," Monica said, drawing her next card. "I'll Set this card face-down and end my turn."

Rocket Warrior (4/**1000**/1200 - 4/**500**/1200)

(Time Limit: 11)

"You better get ready for this next part," Monica said, "cause now we're taking this to the skies and the finish line!"

"Say WHAT?!"

Monica revved her runner's engine and charged off towards the Cliff of Peril!

"And here they are at the final leg of the race, folks!" Andrew's voice called out. "The runners must now fly off the Cliff of Peril and onto the race track before speeding back towards the finish line!"

"They have to do WHAT?!" Tristan yelped.

"I have to do WHAT?!" Joey yelped.

Monica's runner suddenly popped out a set of wings and a parachute as it drove off the cliffside! The wings took over, gliding for a bit before the parachute activated, bringing out a massive force that pushed up on Monica strongly! In the meantime, Joey desperately searched for the controls that would apparently allow him to make this jump successfully!

"Somebody activate his wings and parachute!" Izzy called out. "I don't think he's going to figure it out any time soon!"

"On it! Taking over the runner briefly!" one of the monitors called out. Rapidly, Joey's runner began accelerating on its own!

"Nyehhhhhh, I didn't wanna go off dat cliff!" Joey yelled as the runner charged towards the cliff even faster! "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

And just in time, the runner's wings and parachute triggered, allowing for Joey to fly safely behind Monica! Joey, covering his eyes, took a small peek and realized he was just fine. He breathed a tremendous sigh of relief at this revelation.

"Hey Joey!" Monica called out. "You gonna hurry up and beat me or what?"

Joey looked up and smiled. "Of course I am!" he called out, drawing a card. "I just need ta get back my Red-Eyes with dis card! Monster Reborn!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**0**/2800 - 8/**200**/2800) (NC: 16)

Monica: 8000  
Joey: 500

With that, the mighty dragon returned to Joey's field safe-and-sound!

"And now I Tribute my Rocket Warrior for my Jinzo (6/2400/1500)!" he declared, sacrificing the tiny warrior for a powerful mechanized man! "And with dat, all our Traps are sealed!"

"Oh no! That means I can't use the Brake Barrier I just Set!" Monica muttered somewhat to herself.

"And now, it's time!" Joey said. "Red-Eyes, time to take back your revenge! Go, Inferno Fire Blast!"

The black dragon charged up and fired off its mighty fireball at the blackened Nitros Dragon, destroying it in a powerful blast!

Monica: 5800  
Joey: 500

"And now Jinzo, attack her Life Points directly!" Joey called out. With that, the machine fired off laser beams from its eyes and hit Monica's runner easily!

Monica: 3400  
Joey: 500

"Oh man, could this be it?! Could this be the end of the duel right here?!" Andrew's voice commented over the waves.

"And now I'm ending my turn!" Joey said.

(Time Limit: 10)

Monica simply smiled as she drew her next card. "You may have taken advantage over here in the duel," she said, "but that doesn't mean you've won just yet! If I can't beat you here, then I'll just have to beat you to the finish line!"

"What?!"

At that moment, the runners landed, and Monica tore off towards the finish line!

"What's this? Monica's taken off to the finish line!" Andrew's voice announced. "It looks like she's taking this to the streets and letting the rules of the Turbo Duel take effect!"

Joey snarled and revved his runner to try and catch up! He managed to reach Monica's rear bumper, only to be cut off by her swerving!

"It looks like this duel's become a race to the finish line, and there's no turning back at this point!" Andrew's voice called out.

Monica turned briefly back at Joey. "Sorry Joey," she said, "but I have to win this no matter what it takes!"

"Oh yeah?" Joey yelled back. "Why don't you tell dat to me while you eat my dust!"

With that, Joey put the pedal to the metal and boosted his speed by a lot! He managed to outmaneuver Monica and speed up alongside her!

"It's neck and neck now, folks!" Andrew's voice announced. "It's Joey! No wait, it's Monica! Now it's Joey! And now Monica-no Joey-no Monica-I can't even tell who's in front at this point! It's gonna be a race down to the last drop!"

"I'll Set this card and end my turn!" Monica announced loudly.

(Time Limit: 9)

"Nyeh?" Joey wondered, getting caught off-guard long enough for Monica to launch her runner with enough speed to get alongside and-

"I don't know what just happened, folks!" Andrew's voice called out. "We may have to go to the cameras for this one!"

"Nyeh?!" Joey realized and hit the brake just in time to avoid the railing. Sighing again, he literally collapsed out of the runner and onto the ground. The others quickly joined him as the pit crew took the runner away.

"Joey! Are you alright?" Yugi asked.

"Nyehhhhhhhh..." Joey drooled onto the tarmac. It was a rather odd sight to be sure.

"Joey, you're embarrassing yourself," Tristan said, facepalming himself.

"And it looks like we have a photo!" Andrew's voice announced. The gang looked up at the monitor to see the picture in question.

"And the winner of this duel, by the rules of the Turbo Duel, is Monica Toronto!"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Wow, that was pretty intense! And Joey almost had her too! But it looks like Yugi may have to contend with whatever cards Monica's stored in her deck!

**Accelerator Drive** (Continuous Spell card)  
Effect: Each time the Atk of a monster(s) increases, you gain 500 Life Points.

**Gear Shift** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: Activate when an effect is activated that would decrease a monster's Atk. Negate the effect, and increase the selected monster's Atk by the same amount instead.

**Dark Dragon Ritual** (Ritual Spell card)  
Effect: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Knight of Dark Dragons". You must also Tribute monsters whose total Levels equal 4 or more from your field or your hand.

**Knight of Dark Dragons** (Ritual Monster card)  
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1200 Def, Warrior, DARK  
Effect: This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell card "Dark Dragon Ritual". During your Main Phase, you can Tribute this card to Special Summon 1 "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" from your hand or Deck. That monster cannot attack during the turn it is Special Summoned.

**Twin Dragon Engine** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 0 Atk, 2000 Def, Dragon, WIND  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned. You can only Special Summon this card while you have a Level 8 or higher Dragon-type monster on your field. You can Tribute this card to target 1 monster on your field; increase its Atk by 2000 until the End Phase of this turn.

**Rapid-Wing Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 2, 900 Atk, 500 Def, Dragon, WIND  
Effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand when you Special Summon a monster. This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

**Accelerant Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1000 Def, Dragon, FIRE  
Effect: You can Tribute this card to target 1 monster on your field; increase its Atk by 1000 until the End Phase of this turn.

**Magical Arm Shield **(Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate only when your opponent declares an attack while you control a monster. Take control of 1 of your opponent's monsters until the end of the Battle Phase and redirect the attack towards that monster.

**Sudden Stop** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: Activate during your Battle Phase when your monster attacks. Negate the attack and end the Battle Phase.

**Metalmorph** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Equip this to a monster you control. That monster gains 300 Atk and Def. If it attacks, it gains Atk equal to half the Atk of the attack target during damage calculation only.

**Dragon Nails** (Equip Spell card)  
Effect: Equip only to a DARK Dragon-type monster. It gains 600 Atk.

**Counter Cleaner** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Pay 500 Life Points; remove all counters on the field from play.

**Drift Barrier **(Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate when your opponent's monster declares an attack. Negate the attack, and draw 1 card.

**Nitro Boost** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: You can activate this card by paying Life Points in multiples of 1000 and selecting 1 "Nitros Dragon" on your field. Place a Nitros Counter on that "Nitros Dragon" for every 1000 Life Points paid for this effect.

**Compensation Mediation** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate only when your opponent declares an attack. Your opponent selects 2 cards in their Graveyard. Shuffle this card with those cards and place them face-down on the field. Reveal one of them at random. If you reveal this card, end the Battle Phase. Afterwards, return the opponent's cards to the top of your opponent's Deck, and send this card to the Graveyard.

**Cooling Agent** (Equip Spell card)  
Effect: Whenever the equipped monster would lose Atk, you can pay 500 Life Points to prevent that loss.

**Hyperdrive Highway** (Continuous Spell card)  
Effect: During each player's End Phase, reduce the Atk of all face-up monsters on the field by 500. If a monster's Atk would become 0 by this effect, destroy it. Either player can discard 2 cards from their hand to destroy this card.

**Shield & Sword** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Switch the original Atk & Def of all monsters on the field until the end of the turn. Any additions and subtractions to Atk & Def apply to the new Atk & Def. Monsters summoned after this card's activation are excluded.

**Rocket Warrior **(Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1300 Def, Warrior, LIGHT  
Effect: This effect is only active during the Battle Phase of your turn. Battle Damage to this card and this card's controller taken from a battle involving this card becomes 0. After damage calculation, decrease the Atk of the monster that was attacked by this card by 500 points until the end of the turn.

**Overheat!** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Select 1 monster on your field; double its Atk until the End Phase. During the End Phase, reduce its Atk to 0.

**Roll of Fate** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Roll a six-sided die. Draws cards equal to the result, then send the same number of cards from the top of your deck to the Graveyard.

**Monster Reborn** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Special Summon 1 monster from either player's Graveyard to your side of the field.

It looks like we're down to the Final Four in the Battle of the Titans! We already know Yugi and Monica have made it, but who might the others be? Will Yugi be able to outplay and outlast the others and reclaim the God Cards, or will he have to dethrone himself and let someone else hold onto them for a while? We'll find out in the next chapter!


	16. Sorting Out the Final Four

Chapter 16: Sorting Out the Final Four

Yugi sat at the desk organizing his deck for the last part of the tournament. Joey was simply exhausted after the race, and while briefly congratulating Monica for her victory, he simply had no energy left to stand much less walk back to the room. Andrew visited the group in the room to give Yugi his congratulations for getting to the end of the tournament successfully, as well as to check up on how Joey was doing.

"Boy, if I was in his shoes, I'd be resting too!" he joked. "He put in a real good effort for a newbie!"

While he hung around the room, the others asked him what it would be like for the finals. He explained that Matt was planning on having some way of sorting out the four duelists who made it. The sorting would take place before the finals matches themselves, so there was little to worry about.

"You wouldn't happen to know who's in the finals, would you?" Yugi asked.

"Technically I know, but all you need to know is that it's you and Monica so far," Andrew replied. "I'll let the other two be a surprise!"

After that, he decided to leave, saying how he needed to go talk with Matt about something. When the door closed, Tristan wondered aloud, "I wonder what he's been up to."

"Who, Andrew?" Tea asked.

"Yeah," Tristan said. "Something about him's been bothering me for a little bit. He shows up to the tournament on a boat, but he's the brother of the guy running the tournament. Why wouldn't he already be here?"

"Maybe that's why he was on the boat," Yugi replied, "although you're right, it does seem a little odd."

"And on top of that, he said he was participating in the tournament, remember?" Tristan asked.

"That's true," Tea said. "Him being Matt's brother at least explains the guards letting us on, but it doesn't explain his role in the tournament."

"Dat's true," Joey perked up drowsily, and very quickly he fell back onto the bed.

"You really should rest, Joey," Yugi said. "You spent a lot of energy in that last duel."

"Ain't dat da truth," Joey replied. "I don't think I've had a duel nearly as rough as dat - and I've been involved in some crazy stuff, thanks to you!"

Yugi shrugged. "That's the way it goes, I guess," he said. He knew full well that Joey was partially right. They'd been through a lot together, and he at least had a little further to go.

"Yugi," Joey said. "You better win dis tournament! I may be outta da running, but I know you can wipe da floor with whoever else ends up in da finals, even Monica!"

"Thanks Joey," Yugi replied, though he hardly needed a reminder. It was because of him that the God Cards were being used as the prize for the tournament, and it would be because of him that they got them back...

* * *

..."You wanted to see me?"

Matt turned in his chair to the new person in the room, though he was very familiar with them. Andrew stood there, waiting for his brother to tell him.

"Yes," Matt said. "I trust that things have gone well?"

"Absolutely," Andrew replied.

"Who all is in the finals?"

"As I recall, Yugi and Monica, the Driving King, have both made it to the finals, as well as Seto Kaiba."

"Kaiba would, I suppose, as would Yugi. Monica's an interesting person, though she has had her own personal advantage."

"True that!"

"Are we ready for the final four then?"

"Of course."

"Then you know where to go..."

* * *

...Yugi had just finished tweaking his deck when the PDA beeped with a new message. He checked it, reading out, "Congratulations on your entry into the finals, please go to the bottom of the ship above the Viewing Room."

"Sounds like somebody's about to face the big challenge," Tea noted.

"I guess that's the signal then," Yugi said.

"Alright! You better be ready, Yug!" Joey said, standing and stretching his legs.

"You sure you're alright to tag along, Joey?" Yugi asked.

"Don't worry about him," Tristan reassured him, "he'll be just fine. Besides, if he needs a piggyback ride, I'm sure Tea will be able to carry him."

And a smart tap on Tristan's noggin with Tea's fist made him crouch in pain. "Like he was saying, _he'll_ carry Joey if he needs to," Tea corrected.

Yugi couldn't help but smile. These were his friends, after all, and in a way, they were all giving him their support. Suddenly, Yami appeared by Yugi's side and said, "We're almost there, Yugi. I hope you're ready for what lies ahead."

"Don't you worry, Pharaoh," Yugi reassured him, "we'll win no matter what!"

And so the four friends headed down to the bottommost deck of the ship, where they found a large dome structure facing downward. It was in fact the same structure Andrew had once told them of, a glass dome with a view of the ocean below and a small walkway above it. It was quite a majestic sight to see, and the four took in the sight with awe and wonder.

"That's so cool!" Tea exclaimed.

"We're flying above the ocean!" Tristan remarked.

"I told you guys to take a look at this place when you got the chance."

The group turned to see Andrew, walking across the walkway.

"I hope you're not too surprised to see me here," he noted.

"Hehe, we can always count on you ta be somewhere nearby," Joey replied.

"Ready to meet the finalists?"

Yugi nodded his head, and Andrew led the group across the walkway to the other side, where two doors were. Andrew opened up the door labeled, "Workers Only," and led the group up a spiraling staircase to another door. This door led them into a room that instantly caught their attention, as the parallel was not only uncanny but the room was designed in almost exactly the same way as it was at the Kaiba Corp Tower where the Battle City Finals were held.

"What is this place?" Yugi wondered aloud.

"This is where the final four are gonna be sorted out," Andrew replied. "And fortunately for you guys, the other finalists are here already."

The group turned and saw Monica, now dressed in more casual riding wear, and Seto Kaiba, looking as smug and arrogant as ever. Kaiba had already taken note of the group's entrance into the room and remarked, "Well well, I'm not surprised Yugi made it to the finals. I would be surprised Wheeler was here, but I already heard the news he lost to Monica."

"Ahhh, can it, you," Joey retorted somewhat, and a rather weak retort it was.

"So Kaiba, Monica, and Yugi made it," Tea counted, "but then who's the fourth?"

"Boy, I thought that'd be obvious too," Andrew said, rolling his eyes a little. "That honor belongs to me."

The group gasped. "You're the fourth finalist?!" they asked.

"Haha, nothing escapes you guys," Andrew said. "Yes indeed, I'm finalist #4!"

At that moment, another door opened, and everyone turned to see Matt enter the room along with three other people. One was a short fellow, while the others were a tall beautiful girl and a slightly shorter girl with glasses.

"Welcome my finalists," Matt said, "to the last part of the tournament. I'm sure you've already made yourselves aware of your surroundings, as this is how we'll be sorting out the last four finalists. I would like to thank Kaiba for his reluctant assistance in building this particular part of the ship, as it only took a couple of days rather than the weeks I probably would have spent on it."

Kaiba responded with a stern silence. The area only served as a reminder to a brutal thrashing he was dealt in his own Battle City tournament by Yugi, a memory he didn't particularly care to remember. Matt nodded towards him regardless then addressed the four duelists again, "For those of you who may be familiar with this set-up, the four platforms are for each duelist to stand at. The duel will be a four-man free-for-all, where the first two duelists to lose will face off against each other in the first round of the finals. Naturally, the other match will follow.

"Each player will have 4000 Life Points and will be allowed to make any attacks on the others. I hope that you all will give it your best effort. Now duelists, board your platforms and prepare to begin the duel!"

"About time!" Andrew said, immediately boarding onto a platform nearby. "It won't matter who I face later, I'll be sure to have fun all the way!"

Kaiba silently walked over to another platform, as did Yugi and Monica. Monica looked over towards Yugi as he boarded his, a sort of longing in her eyes.

_You're the only one who can help me. I have to duel you..._

The others grouped into the center to watch the match from below. The duelists loaded their respective decks into their Duel Disks, plugging them into the platforms and preparing themselves.

_I won't let these losers get in the way of me winning over the Egyptian God cards,_ Kaiba thought to himself. _And on top of that, Yugi is the only one I'll be dueling in the finals, but I'll guarantee he's mine, and then I'll avenge myself and regain my title as the number one duelist in the world!_

_I have to win this tournament,_ Yugi thought, _and get back those God cards. If I can get them back, I can guarantee they're in good hands. For the sake of the Pharaoh's memories, I'll win them back!_

Matt looked around and nodded at the other admins. "I trust you three will be able to handle things from here," he said as he walked out of the room. "As you know, I have certain matters to take care of."

"Ha! This oughta be easy to take care of," the shortest answered.

With the duelists ready and waiting, the tall female admin headed over to a switch nearby and pulled it, triggering the rise of the platforms. "And now, the order of the duelists are..."

A number flashed in front of each platform, 1 in front of Monica, 3 in front of Yugi, 4 in front of Andrew, and 2 in front of Kaiba. "Monica, followed by Kaiba, followed by Yugi, followed by Andrew," she announced.

"Duelists, begin!"

Everyone drew their hand and announced, "Duel!"

Monica: 4000  
Kaiba: 4000  
Yugi: 4000  
Andrew: 4000

"Alright then, it's my turn then!" Monica announced. "And I will summon Speedy Dragon (4/1600/400) from my hand to the field!"

The familiar yellow dragon arose onto Monica's field, brandishing its blades.

"And now with its power, I'll be able to attack a player directly!" Monica explained, turning her focus onto Kaiba. "So now I will attack Kaiba's Life Points directly!"

With that, the dragon sliced through Kaiba readily!

Kaiba: 2400

"I'll get you back for that!" Kaiba snarled, as his platform rose based on a scale along the wall.

Speedy Dragon (4/**1600**/400 - 4/**1100**/400)

"And now I'll play one card face-down to end my turn," Monica said.

"My turn, draw!" Kaiba said, drawing a new card. "And I summon Vorse Raider (4/1900/1200) in Attack mode!"

A fearsome beast arose on Kaiba's field, brandishing a terrifying axe and grinning devilishly.

"And now I'll play two cards face-down," he continued, "and end my turn."

"Alright, my move!" Yugi announced, drawing his next card. _I don't even know who I should attack. What should I do?_

"Don't think about who you should fight."

Suddenly, Yami appeared over Yugi's shoulder. "It may be best to take the defensive route for now. We'll let them decide on who they want to duel."

"I suppose that's one thing we can do," Yugi said. "In that case..."

Picking out a card, Yugi declared, "I'll Set one monster and one card face-down on my field! That should end my turn."

"Oh? Is it my turn already?" Andrew asked. "Huh. Well then!"

He drew his next card and folded his arms back over. "I'll pass this turn."

Most everyone seemed to gasp. "He's skipping his turn?!" Joey yelped.

_Heh, it's a perfectly legitimate tactic,_ Andrew thought. _I happen to know that none of the others know what my deck is, so why spoil em? Besides, this will give me a slight advantage to see more of their cards now._

"Well, if you're so willing to pass up your own turn," Monica said, drawing her next card, "I won't delay on your demise! I summon Dragonic Racer (4/1600/1000) in Attack mode!"

A dragon covered in a racing suit appeared on Monica's field, ready to race.

"In addition to my Dragonic Racer being Summoned, he also has a special ability," Monica continued. "By discarding one card from my hand, I'm allowed to add either a Quick-Play Spell or a Trap card from my Deck to my hand. So now I'll add Over the Limit! to my hand."

Fueling her racer's power, the dragon rushed through and dragged out Over the Limit! from Monica's deck!

"And now," Monica continued, "I'll use my Acceleration Evolution! Spell card to evolve my Speedy Dragon and transform him into Turbo Dragon (6/2200/1100)!"

The yellow dragon was soon replaced with a fearsome red dragon. It roared and revved itself as it made its appearance on the field.

"And now my Turbo Dragon moves directly into the Battle Phase, negating all monster effects that it should encounter," Monica explained. "So now, I attack Seto's Vorse Raider with my Turbo Dragon!"

The mighty dragon reared back and lunged forth at Seto's Vorse Raider!

"You think I'm going to let you strike me down twice?" Seto called back. "I activate my Ring of Destruction trap card!"

Suddenly, the dragon is secured with a ring of explosives!

"With this card," Seto explained, "your monster is destroyed, and we each take damage equal to its Atk power. But with my Ring of Defense card, I'm able to negate the damage I would receive from my own trap, meaning you're the only one who's going to lose Life Points!"

A green ring with shields opened up in front of Seto and began to spin around as the red ring exploded and took out the dragon! With that done, Monica's platform rose up even higher than Kaiba's platform.

Monica: 1800

"Awww, come on," Andrew whined with his arms outstretched. "You're not even going to bother with the guy with no defense?"

Monica glared down at him. "Well since you're so insistent, and since I still have a monster," she said, "I'll attack you directly by using Over the Limit! with my Dragonic Racer, raising its Atk by 1000 and negating its effect! Now go, Dragonic Racer!"

Dragonic Racer (4/**1600**/1000 - 4/**2600**/1000)

The dragon lunged and sped down towards Andrew, delivering a powerful punch to him and his ego!

Andrew: 1400

"Well, now that's more like it!" Andrew called out, rising up even higher than anyone else.

"And now," Monica continued, "I'll use my Monster Reborn spell to bring back Turbo Dragon from my graveyard!"

The red dragon reappeared on her field triumphantly, spreading its wings out and roaring loudly.

"And finally, I'll Set one card on my field and end my turn," Monica concluded.

"Fine then," Kaiba called out. "My turn!"

Examining his hand, Kaiba smiled. "I'll start by summoning Kaibaman to my field (3/200/700) in Attack mode!"

A red-haired man in a silvery Blue-Eyes White Dragon costume appeared smilingly triumphantly as he raised a card up.

"With Kaibaman's special ability," Kaiba explained as he drew out another card from his hand, "I can sacrifice him in order to summon out a Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/3000/2500) from my hand!"

The man smiled and disappeared, giving way to the infamous dragon of destruction! As it appeared on the field, it roared out as if to intimidate its opponents.

"Next, I activate the Card of Demise," Kaiba continued. "This card allows me to replenish my hand with up to five cards, provided I discard my entire hand five turns from now."

After drawing out the next few cards of his deck and reexamining his new hand, Kaiba called out, "And now I play the White Dragon Ritual, sacrificing my Vorse Raider in order to summon Paladin of White Dragon (4/1900/1200) from my hand!"

The fearsome beast-warrior was soon replaced with a shining knight in white armor riding a dragon resembling the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"And now I attack Dragonic Racer with Paladin of White Dragon!" Kaiba declared.

The knight led his dragon steed forth and charged at Monica's dragon, slashing through its racing suit and destroying it, causing Monica's platform to rise up higher.

Monica: 1500

"And now," Kaiba continued, looking over at Andrew, "I'll attack Andrew directly with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"Oh? I'm flattered," Andrew smiled.

"Go, White Lightning attack!"

The dragon charged up a powerful attack and unleashed its might upon Andrew's remaining Life Points, effectively finishing him off.

Andrew: 0

"Looks like Andrew's the first one out," the short admin noted. "So much for all that spiel about him being so good."

"I think it's very clear that he wanted to be the first one out," the tallest admin said.

"I don't see why he'd want that," the short one retorted.

"And now," Kaiba continued without delay, "I'll use my Paladin's special ability to sacrifice him in order to summon another Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck!"

Just as Kaibaman disappeared earlier, the paladin disappeared with his dragon steed, bringing forth another fearsome dragon in its place.

"Now I play one card face-down from my hand," Seto said, "and end my turn."

Watching the carnage unfold, Yugi was impressed. _Everyone seems to have a plan of some kind in mind,_ he thought. _I suppose I should keep up with my own._

He drew his next card and examined the cards in his hand. _Doesn't seem like there's much I can do offensively,_ he thought. _I should probably keep up my defenses._

"I'll play another monster in Defense mode," Yugi declared, "and end my turn."

"Alright then," Andrew called out, "it's my...wait, no it isn't."

"It's my turn!" Monica interrupted, drawing a new card. She looked at it and nodded.

"Looks like I'll finish this off," she announced. "I play Acceleration Evolution! from my hand, evolving my Turbo Dragon into his ultimate form, Nitros Dragon (8/2800/1800)!"

The red dragon was soon replaced with the blue-green dragon that terrorized Joey's last duel!

"And when my Nitros Dragon is summoned," Monica explained, "I can destroy all other cards on my field and then destroy the same number on an opponent's field. And with two cards to destroy, I'm taking down your Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"

She pointed over at Kaiba's field, directing her dragon's fearsome power as it devoured her cards and unleashed a mighty burst of blue flames at the dragons!

"I won't let you take away my dragons so easily," Kaiba retorted. "I activate Card Guard, which will defend my monsters at the price of me discarding one card from my hand."

A shield appeared in front of Kaiba's dragons and intercepted the flames from Nitros Dragon's effect!

"Your card may have stopped my attack," Monica noted, "but it hasn't stopped my dragon's ability! With every spell card that activates, my dragon gets a Nitros Counter, boosting his power by 200!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**2800**/1800 - 8/**3000**/1800) (NC: 1)

"And now I summon Accelerant Dragon (4/1900/1000) from my hand!" Monica continued. "Then by Tributing him, he boosts Nitros Dragon's Atk by 1000 until the End Phase!"

Nitros Dragon (8/**3000**/1800 - 8/**4000**/1800) (NC: 1)

"Now go, Nitros Dragon!" Monica declared. "Attack Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The dragon breathed in a huge breath and blasted out a powerful fireball.

"Sorry, but my Card Guard's effect lasts until the End Phase of the turn," Kaiba said, as the shield intercepted the new attack.

"Even so," Monica said, "you're still vulnerable to the damage dealt!"

Kaiba: 1400

As Kaiba's platform rose, Monica said, "Now my turn's over."

Nitros Dragon (8/**4000**/1800 - 8/**3000**/1800) (Nitros Counter: 1)

Kaiba smirked as he drew his next card. "If that's all you've got," Kaiba said, "then this duel's just about over!"

(Card of Demise: 1 turn)

"I activate the Polymerization card," Kaiba announced, "fusing the two Blue-Eyes White Dragon's on my field with the one in my hand in order to summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (12/4500/3800)!"

The circle of magic sucked in Kaiba's dragons and combined them together to create a three-headed dragon that roared fiercely.

"And now it's time to get rid of your monster!" Kaiba said. "I attack Nitros Dragon with my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Go, Neutron Blast!"

The three heads collectively charged up an immense amount of energy and unleashed it upon Monica's Nitros Dragon!

"You're done!"

The blast consumed the dragon and Monica in an explosion! Kaiba smirked triumphantly as the others watched and waited for the smoke to clear. As it did, Monica's Life Points were revealed.

Monica: 200

"I hope you hadn't forgotten that by activating a Spell card," Monica said, "you gave my dragon enough attack points for me to survive the attack."

Kaiba glared. "You may have saved yourself this round," he said, "but if Yugi doesn't finish you off on his turn, you can rest assured I will take you out!"

On the ground, the others observed the ongoing duel. "Man, it's getting really intense up dere," Joey noted.

"But it's just about over isn't it?" the admin with glasses wondered.

"We'll see," the short one muttered.

Back up at the duel, Yugi announced, "It's my turn!"

Looking at the card he just drew, Yugi realized it was Brain Control. _With this card, I could end the duel either way,_ he thought. _But I don't even know who I should pick or if I should use it at all._

He looked up at Kaiba, who stared down intently at him. Then he looked over at Monica, who looked down on him. There was something about the way she looked at him though that was more than just a blank stare. It was a plea from her eyes, and at that moment Yugi remembered something. He knew what he needed to do.

"I activate the spell card Brain Control!" he announced. Kaiba and Monica were both shocked at this move, as Yugi explained, "By paying 800 of my Life Points, I can take over a monster on my opponent's field until the end of the turn."

Yugi: 3200

The psychic tendrils of Brain Control appeared and grabbed ahold of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, transferring it over to Yugi's field.

_You'll know her when you recognize her..._

"And now," Yugi announced, "I attack Kaiba directly with the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

The three-headed dragon charged up another attack against its former master and fired its powerful Neutron Blast, eliminating the rest of Kaiba's Life Points!

Kaiba: 0

At that moment, a whistle was blown by the short admin. "And that's that!" he called out. "The matches have been decided! The first round of the semifinals will be Andrew against Kaiba, and then the second round will be Yugi versus Monica!"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Well, now that that four-way duel's outta the way, let's take a look at some of those cards!

**Vorse Raider** (Normal Monster card)  
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1200 Def, Beast-Warrior, DARK

**Dragonic Racer** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1600 Atk, 1000 Def, Dragon, WIND  
Effect: Once per turn, you can discard 1 card from your hand to add 1 Quick-Play Spell or 1 Normal Trap card from your Deck to your hand. This card cannot attack during the turn this effect is used.

**Ring of Destruction** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Destroy 1 monster on the field and inflict damage to both players' Life Points equal to that monster's Atk.

**Ring of Defense** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: When you would take damage from a card effect, reduce the damage you would take to 0.  
NOTE: This card retains its anime effect rather than the real-life counterpart, which would reduce the effect damage from a Trap card to 0. Because of this, in real-life when this card is chained to Ring of Destruction, the monster would be destroyed but neither player takes damage from Ring of Destruction.

**Over the Limit!** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: Select 1 monster on your side of the field. Increase its Atk by 1000 and negate all of its effects until the End Phase.

**Kaibaman** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 200 Atk, 700 Def, Warrior, LIGHT  
Effect: You can Tribute this face-up card to Special Summon 1 "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" from your hand.

**Blue-Eyes White Dragon** (Normal Monster card)  
Level 8, 3000 Atk, 2500 Def, Dragon, LIGHT

**Card of Demise** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Draw until you have 5 cards in your hand. During your fifth Standby Phase after activation, send your entire hand to the Graveyard.

**White Dragon Ritual** (Ritual Spell card)  
Effect: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Paladin of White Dragon". You must also Tribute monsters whose total Levels equal 4 or more from your hand or your side of the field.

**Paladin of White Dragon** (Ritual Monster card)  
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1200 Def, Dragon, LIGHT  
Effect: This card can only be Ritual Summoned with "White Dragon Ritual". If this card attacks a face-down Defense Position monster, destroy the monster immediately without flipping it face-up or applying damage calculation. You can Tribute this card to Special Summon 1 "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" from your hand or Deck; it cannot attack this turn.

**Card Guard** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: During this turn, monsters you control cannot be destroyed in battle or by card effects. Afterwards, discard 1 card.

**Polymerization** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Fuse 2 or more monsters in your hand or on your side of the field and Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster that lists those monsters as Fusion Material from your Extra Deck.  
NOTE: Now don't get your hopes up, we're in Yugioh! land, so no Synchros or Xyzs here. I just like using the lingo~

**Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon** (Fusion Monster card)  
Level 12, 4500 Atk, 3800 Def, Dragon, LIGHT

**Brain Control** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Pay 800 Life Points to take control of 1 monster on your opponent's field.

Next up is the match between Andrew and Kaiba! Looks like our heroes will get a break from dueling this time. What powerful strategy did Andrew use to work his way up to the top of the tournament? And is it enough to defeat Kaiba, or is the world's second strongest duelist going to wipe him out without a second thought? Only the next chapter will tell the tale!


	17. Revival of the Ancient Heroes

Chapter 17: Revival of the Ancient Heroes

"Whatcha want, bro?"

Andrew stood in Matt's office, watching him take another sip from another glass of milk. With the resolution of the sorting round, the duelists were preparing for the semifinal rounds. However, Creighton had approached Andrew with the news that his brother wanted to see him, so he had come here to see what Matt wanted to say to him.

Setting the milk down on the desk, Matt asked, "How come you didn't play a card in that last duel?"

Andrew smirked. "Is that what this is about?" he asked back.

"You know I encourage participants to try their hardest no matter what," Matt said. "To see you not even bother is rather disappointing and shameful. You understand, I'm sure?"

Andrew simply nodded. "I suppose," he answered.

"I imagine you're more than ready to give the rest of this tournament your best, yes?" Matt asked.

Andrew looked at him and smiled. "Absolutely."

* * *

After the semifinals had been determined, Yugi joined up with the others to go to where the final rounds of the tournament were to be held. As the admins had instructed them, they were to head to the room directly above the one they were already in, in which a makeshift arena of sorts was set-up. The friends were escorted into a set of stands on the side where they could watch the duel.

Kaiba was already at the arena by the time the others had arrived, ready and waiting for his opponent to arrive. Monica, however, was nowhere to be found, and neither was Andrew for that matter, but it didn't take long before he arrived at the arena. He was followed by none other than Matt himself, who walked over into the stands and sat down right next to Yugi.

"I hope you won't mind if I sit here," he said as he approached, to which Yugi simply nodded. Taking his seat, Matt looked on at the arena and more specifically his brother, who simply looked over at Kaiba smiling.

"Congratulations on making it this far in the tournament, by the way," Matt said to Yugi, though he did not look at him.

"Thanks," Yugi replied. "Your brother deserves some congrats too, being the first time he's been in a tournament."

At that remark, Matt smiled. "He's always been the better between the two of us, to be honest," he said. "I'd watch this duel very carefully if I were in your shoes."

Yugi looked back down onto the arena, where Andrew still stood smiling as confident as ever while he loaded his deck into the Duel Disk.

_Now that I think about it,_ Yugi thought, _he didn't even play a card during the match-ups._

At that moment, Yami appeared alongside Yugi. _It's strange,_ Yami thought to Yugi, _and yet I __think he had a fairly good reason to do so._

_That's what I'm starting to think too,_ Yugi thought back. _It may be that he didn't want us to know what his deck would be and come up with a counter of some kind for it._

_It makes me wonder just what kind of deck got him so far in the tournament as well,_ Yami thought.

At that moment, the tall female admin appeared on the field and looked up at Matt, who nodded as though to signal her. She nodded back and announced, "It's time! The first match of the semifinals between Seto Kaiba and Andrew-"

"Will now begin!" Andrew interrupted, drawing five cards from the top of his deck eagerly. Kaiba also drew out his hand and looked down at his cards.

The tall female admin was startled, but she continued regardless, "This duel will start with each player having 8000 Life Points and will continue on as a normal duel with normal rules. Let the match begin!"

Kaiba: 8000  
Andrew: 8000

"I believe the first turn belongs to you, Kaiba!" Andrew said, smiling confidently as ever.

"I hope you'll learn to smile only when victory is yours," Kaiba said, drawing a card. "Now I'll summon my Vorse Raider (4/1900/1200) in Attack mode!"

The vicious beastman appeared once again wielding its wicked ax. It snarled at Andrew who remained unfazed by the move.

"And now I'll Set these two cards on the field and end my turn," Kaiba declared.

Andrew smirked. "My turn then," he said as he drew the next card from his deck. Observing his hand, he looked over at Kaiba.

"Tell me something, Kaiba," Andrew said. "Have you ever heard of the Ancient Heroes?"

"Is this supposed to be part of your move?" Kaiba retorted. "You're more than welcome to just skip your turn like you did in the match-ups."

"The Ancient Heroes have been around for thousands of years," Andrew continued, ignoring Kaiba's taunt, "and they've been protecting the world from the forces of darkness that threaten it each and every day. They've become battle-hardy monsters of tremendous power and brutal strength that would give even such monsters as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon a run for their money."

"Do you plan on continuing to fabricate this story or actually dueling?" Kaiba taunted again.

Andrew simply smiled. "You're right, I should really focus less on the fascinating tale of the Ancient Heroes," he said, drawing out a card from his hand, "and instead demonstrate to you their greatness. Behold then, Kaiba, for I'm about to introduce to you an ancient power beyond your grasp! I summon forth the mighty Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2000/1200)!"

At that moment, the ground trembled and split open, releasing a fearsome monster with long bladed claws and a horn on its head that rose high above itself. It appeared to be a blue dinosaur, and its bladed tail lashed around as it looked deep into Kaiba's eyes. Its more humanoid body was adorned in a simple barbaric suit that resembled an A. It roared out in a fit of bloodlust and rage, ready for battle.

"Sounds like my guy's ready to tear into your monster," Andrew noted, "but first, I should really get into the moment and bring in home-field advantage. I activate the Field Spell City of the Ancient Pyramids!"

Suddenly a sandstorm burst forth out of nowhere and spread out across the field, transporting the arena into a mysterious desert land. Then behind Andrew arose three great pyramids made entirely out of stone.

"And now everything's in place," Andrew said. "Go, my Ancient Hero Bladegon! Destroy Kaiba's monster!"

The sharp dinosaur lunged forth drawing out its claws and preparing to hack and slash at Vorse Raider!

"You think your monster's so tough," Kaiba snorted, "but I can get rid of him easily! Go, Ring of Destruction! And I chain it with Ring of Defense!"

With the activation of each of his cards, two rings appeared, one attaching to Ancient Hero Bladegon while the other opened up and shielded Kaiba as the first ring exploded creating a thick cloud of smoke around Andrew's field.

"I'm sure you know this combo well," Kaiba smiled. "With this, your monster is destroyed, and we'll each take damage equal to its attack, only I will remain unscathed thanks to my Ring of Defense."

As the smoke began to clear, a glint flashed, and then suddenly Vorse Raider was speared by the long claws of the oncoming Bladegon, still intact. Kaiba stood shocked as his monster was vanquished right before his eyes.

Kaiba: 7900  
Andrew: 6000

"See, sometimes you find a particularly useful piece of information in these old stories," Andrew commented on the other side. "It's true that your Ring of Destruction was able to at least inflict damage to my Life Points, but you were wrong when you said my monster was going to be destroyed."

"But how?!" Kaiba demanded. "How did your monster escape my trap?"

"He didn't," Andrew replied. "Of course, with the power of my field spell, he didn't have to either. You see, while we are located in the realm of my City of the Ancient Pyramids, all of my Ancient Heroes can't be destroyed by any of my opponent's magic, trap, or monster effects!"

"What?!"

The group in the stands was also shocked. "He's made his monsters immune ta card effects?!" Joey asked.

"That's an immensely powerful effect," Yugi noted.

Matt simply nodded. _And this is only a part of his deck's strength,_ he thought.

"And now," Andrew continued, "I'll activate the Spell Split Duo card! With this, I can flip a coin twice and call it each time, and anytime I'm right, you'll be giving me 500 of your Life Points!"

Andrew then produced a coin and tossed it into the air, catching it and flip it face-down onto the back of his hand. "Alright," he said, "let's start with a call for heads!"

Looking at the coin, Andrew revealed the result to be heads. "Looks like someone's losing some Life Points," he remarked, "and it's not gonna be me!"

The effect of the card activated, summoning a tiny gremlin with a fairy nearby. The gremlin launched an attack on Kaiba and thwacked his Duel Disk while the fairy sprinkled a bit of fairy dust onto Andrew.

Kaiba: 7400  
Andrew: 6500

"And now," Andrew again flipped the coin, "let's call it tails!"

He caught the coin and flipped it over, then he revealed the result: tails. The gremlin and fairy repeated their actions from before and altered each players' Life Points.

Kaiba: 6900  
Andrew: 7000

"And now," Andrew said, "I'll Set one card face-down and end my turn."

Kaiba grimaced as the others watched on. "I guess this is the power of Andrew's deck," Tristan noted.

"Yeah, he's definitely a lot stronger dan he let on," Joey pointed out.

_To think he's already got a monster with 2000 Attack points that can't be destroyed by card effects,_ Yugi thought.

_Yes, it is a powerful set-up,_ Yami concurred. _But that doesn't mean that his deck is unbeatable._

Kaiba looked up at Andrew, who taunted, "What's wrong? I didn't snatch victory away from you too quickly, did I?"

"Don't get too cocky," Kaiba warned. "This duel's just getting started. My move!"

Kaiba drew the next card of his deck and looked at it, smiling wickedly. "Now I summon the Lord of D. (4/1200/1100) in Attack mode!"

A intriguing figure dressed in dragonic robes appeared on Kaiba's field, proudly casting its cloak behind it as though to appear dominant.

"And now I'll activate The Flute of Summoning Dragon!" Kaiba announced.

A golden dragonic flute then appeared, and the Lord of D. grabbed onto and blew into the flute, creating a triumphant noise that echoed across the arena.

"With the powerful melody of the flute," Kaiba continued, "I can now summon up to 2 Dragons directly from my hand. And since I only have two cards in my hand, I can imagine even you can guess what they are. Come forth, my Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"

At the call of their master and the magical flute, two dragons appeared on Kaiba's field, roaring out thunderously towards the other side of the arena.

"Two Blue-Eyes in one turn?!" Joey remarked.

"Seems Kaiba's as good a duelist as ever," Yugi noted.

"Now go, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba declared. "Attack that small fry and wipe him off the field!"

The dragon charged up its powerful attack once again and fired off a stream of lightning towards the dinosaur on Andrew's field, creating a new explosion that kicked up a heavy amount of sand and dust.

Kaiba: 6900  
Andrew: 6000

"And now that your monster's been eradicated," Kaiba continued, "I can attack you directly with my other Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Go, White Lightning attack!"

The second dragon then charged and fired off a stream of lightning at Andrew. Suddenly a shadow leaped out of the cloud of dust and intercepted the blow!

Kaiba: 6900  
Andrew: 5000

"What in the world was that?!" Kaiba asked, but he soon learned he didn't have to as the smoke cleared to reveal Ancient Hero Bladegon was still on the field. Andrew simply chuckled.

"Again, my story wasn't just about telling you my monsters because of how entertaining it is," he said. "Don't get me wrong, it's a fascinating tale. But I figured you might be more interested in the part where my Ancient Heroes can't be destroyed in battle."

"What?!"

"That's right, Kaiba. Combined with my City of the Ancient Pyramids, my Ancient Heroes are completely indestructible!"

A great shock swept through the crowd and Kaiba as the truth began to sink in.

"You mean his deck's filled with indestructible monsters?!" Joey yelped.

"Not necessarily," Yugi corrected. "The monsters themselves can't be destroyed in battle, but with the City of the Ancient Pyramids, they also can't be destroyed by an opponent's card effects, making them seemingly indestructible. But there is one weakness in the defenses of this deck, and that's what Kaiba needs to find out."

Andrew smiled. _To think he's almost right..._

Kaiba simply glared and announced, "I end my turn."

"Not much else to do, huh?" Andrew noted. "Well, you prolly won't mind if I use this trap card then! I activate my Curse of the Ancients!"

Upon its activation, a foul wind blew across the field and sucked on Kaiba's Life Points quickly!

Kaiba: 6400  
Andrew: 5000

"What the heck was that?!" Kaiba asked.

"That would be the first part of my Curse of the Ancients," Andrew replied. "It starts off by taking away 500 of your Life Points upon its activation. And now..."

Andrew drew the next card of his deck, and the wind blew across Kaiba's field again, this time aging his dragons.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/**3000**/2500 - 8/**2500**/2000)  
Lord of D. (4/**1200**/1100 - 4/**700**/600)

"...during each of our Standby Phases," Andrew explained, "my Curse activates and weakens your monsters by 500 Atk and Def each!"

"So that means-"

"That's right. In about five turns from now, your dragons will be completely powerless. But don't worry, I'll have probably destroyed them well before then."

"Why you..."

"Lucky for you," Andrew continued, "I can't attack with my Bladegon this turn since he attacked last turn, but I can still play a monster in Defense mode and end my turn here."

Kaiba simply drew his next card and watched as his monsters were blasted again by the dark wind.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/**2500**/2000 - 8/**2000**/1500)  
Lord of D. (4/**700**/600 - 4/**200**/100)

"Hang on," Joey said, "how come da Curse still works even though Kaiba's got that Lord of D. in play?"

"That's because the effect of the Curse can't be negated by its effect," Yugi explained. "The Lord of D. can only protect Dragons when they're chosen by a specific card's effect to be their target. Since the Curse of the Ancients doesn't target just one of Kaiba's Dragons, the Lord of D.'s effect can't be used to protect them."

"And since the Lord of D. himself isn't a Dragon-type," Matt added, "it can't protect itself from the effect either."

"Not that it would be able to anyway, since the Curse sweeps across Kaiba's entire field," Yugi pointed out.

"That's true," Matt said.

Looking at the card he drew, Kaiba smiled. "Looks like I'm about to take down your strategy," he said. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, and I'll use it to destroy your City of the Ancient Pyramids!"

The card summoned forth a powerful windstorm that formed into a spiraling tunnel of air. The wind column swept across towards the city, preparing to wipe it off the field. Andrew, however, remained unconcerned and smiling.

"I guess I didn't note that small detail," he said. "I activate the second effect of my City of the Ancient Pyramids!"

At that moment, Ancient Hero Bladegon leaped into the air and intercepted the typhoon, blocking its path and preventing it from reaching the city!

"Yes, go my Ancient Hero Bladegon!" Andrew called out. "Defend the city with your life! Protect it now and save the world for your friends!"

Soon, the typhoon grew weaker and weaker until it dissipated, with the powerful dinosaur finally sacrificing itself to the city's pyramids. The city stood as intact as ever. Kaiba and the others looked on in shock.

"I don't think I need to explain it much more than that," Andrew said. "My City allows me to tribute one of my Ancient Heroes in order to prevent its destruction. Fairly simple, isn't it?"

"Den dat means..." Joey murmured.

"That his deck..." Tristan attempted to continue.

"Has almost no weaknesses," Matt concluded. "So long as he can bring out his monsters and use their power combined with the City of the Ancient Pyramids' own effects, he can raise up a completely unstoppable army of monsters. This is the true power of my brother's deck."

Yugi looked over at Andrew, who continued smiling. _Not only does he have a strong deck,_ he thought, _but he's able to use it really well too. He really is a strong duelist._

_Indeed, he may be able to defeat Kaiba,_ Yami noted.

"I'm not done yet!" Kaiba called out. "I switch Lord of D. to Defense mode!"

Lord of D. (4/**200**/100 - 4/200/**100**)

"And now I'll attack your monster with my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba announced.

The others were shocked again. "Why would he attack if he knows he can't beat dat monster?" Joey wondered aloud.

The mighty dragon soon charged and unleashed a burst of lightning at Andrew's monster. It flipped over, and a shower of pebbles was blown apart by the fierce attack. The attack continued towards an ornate jar that appeared, against which the attack split off, leaving the jar intact. As the attack cleared, an A on the jar could be seen.

"Looks like you've revealed my monster," Andrew said. "Meet my Ancient Hero Guardian (4/800/2000)!"

The scattered pebbles levitated and flew back to the jar, burying into it and reforming into a creature. A horned helmet of rock appeared over its shadowed glinting eyes, and it raised two shields in front of itself with its newly formed hands, one of them being triangular and bearing the A that was on the jar while the other was circular and bore an X with a circle in the middle.

"Luckily for you, my monster has the same amount of Defense as your monster's Attack," Andrew explained. "Otherwise, you might have suffered a bit of a nasty blow. Ancient Hero Guardian is able to double the amount of Battle Damage he inflicts onto you, so if your monster had even a little less Attack-"

"Can it already," Kaiba interrupted. "I came here to duel and defeat you! I don't care if you have a group of indestructible monsters. I will find a way to get through them and defeat you!"

At this, Andrew whistled. "Touchy," he said, drawing a card, "but we can fix that!"

At that moment, the dark wind blew out across the field once more, weakening the dragons even further.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/**2000**/1500 - 8/**1500**/1000)  
Lord of D. (4/200/**100** - 4/0/**0**)

"And now I'll summon Ancient Hero Mirage (2/1100/200) in Attack Mode!"

A ghastly apparition appeared in the form of an armored soldier wielding a spear and covered in a cloak. Its A was formed on its chest plate.

"Go, Mirage! Attack the Lord of D.!" Andrew declared.

The soldier ghost lunged forward and struck through the crippled sorcerer's armor and destroyed it!

"Fortunately for you, your monster was in Defense Mode, so you don't take any damage," Andrew said. "I think I'll Set a card and end my turn here."

"Fine then, it's my turn!" Kaiba announced, drawing a card.

Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8/**1500**/1000 - 8/**1000**/500)

"I hope you've got a plan for those weakening dragons of yours," Andrew chuckled.

Kaiba ignored him, looking at the card he drew. "I activate the Card of Demise!" he said. "With it, I'm allowed to draw 5 cards with the exchange that in 5 turns I have to discard my entire hand."

After drawing his cards, Kaiba perused over his new hand. Smiling, he said, "I think I've found a way around your indestructible monsters. I activate the power of my Soul Exchange! With it, I'm allowed to sacrifice your monsters in place of my own!"

A glowing aura surrounded Andrew's monsters, preparing them for the sacrifice.

"Oh, I see. Take an alternative route!" Andrew mused. "Makes sense, except that I have ways around that. I activate my face-down card, Ancient Heroes' Shield, which protects my monsters from card effects for this turn!"

The aura faded away just as quickly as it appeared. Kaiba grimaced, his strategy foiled once again.

"In that case," he said, "I have no choice but to use this. I activate Polymerization to fuse the Blue-Eyes White Dragons on my field with the Blue-Eyes in my hand so that I can summon my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (12/4500/3800)!"

The corroded dragons were sucked into a portal along with a fresh and empowered one, fusing themselves together into an even more powerful three-headed dragon. The new dragon stared down at Andrew's monsters, prepared to strike.

"Now go, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba declared. "Attack Ancient Hero Mirage with your Neutron Blast!"

The three heads charged up a powerful orb of lightning and unleashed upon the ghost soldier!

"If this attack goes through," Yugi exclaimed, "then Andrew will take a lot of damage!"

Just as he had finished, the attack landed and caused a massive explosion on the field once again shrouding Andrew's monsters. As the dust cleared, the ghost soldier remained firmly in place, and Andrew's Life Points were revealed to have remain unchanged.

Kaiba: 6400  
Andrew: 5000

"Don't tell me-"

"Yep!" Andrew perked up. "You just wasted your attack! My Ancient Hero Mirage is just as his name suggests, a mirage, and that means your attack dealt no battle damage to me!"

Kaiba grimaced again. _His monsters just don't know when to quit_, he thought to himself as he Set a card from his hand and declared, "I'll play a card face-down and end my turn."

"Alright, guess it's my turn!" Andrew said, drawing a card and looking at it. At that moment, the dark wind roared across the field and weakened Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (12/**4500**/3800 - 12/**4000**/3300)

"Well whaddya know?" Andrew remarked. "I activate my Ancient Time Acceleration card! When I have an Ancient Hero on my field, I can use this card to look at the top three cards of my deck, then return any number to the bottom, and then draw the same number I returned to the bottom from top. Just think of it as a fancy way of drawing super fast!"

With that, Andrew looked at the three cards and nodded. "I think I'll return all three to my deck," he said, "and that means I can draw three new cards!"

Perusing his new hand, Andrew smiled. "Alright, now I summon Ancient Hero Morpher (3/0/0) in Attack mode!" he declared.

At that moment, a golden ring appeared and oozed a pinkish goo that formed into an amorphous humanoid being. The strange creature fleshed out an A that was similar to the As of the other Ancient Heroes.

"Perhaps I should explain my little friend's special ability," Andrew said. "In case his name doesn't give him away, he can transform himself into a monster on the field and become a perfect copy of them! So now I'm gonna have him copy your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

The gooey creature began to shift and change shape until it transformed itself into a copy of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, with the only differences being the ring on its back and the A replacing the natural M mark on the dragon's heads.

Ancient Hero Morpher (3/**0**/0) - Blue-Eyes Morpher Dragon (12/**4000**/3300)

"He just duplicated Kaiba's dragon!" Joey exclaimed.

"And now, my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon," Andrew declared, "attack Kaiba's monster with your Neutron Blast attack!"

The doppelgänger dragon charged up its own powerful beam of destruction and prepared to fire against its original counterpart!

"I don't think so!" Kaiba said. "I activate my Trap card, Attack Guidance Armor! This card will redirect the attack towards one of your monsters, so now I choose to redirect the attack towards your Ancient Hero Mirage!"

Suddenly, a new armor overlaid with the ghostly soldier's armor, and the copy dragon fired off its lightning blast towards it instead.

"Guess that was to be expected," Andrew noted. "Thanks to Mirage's effect, I won't take any damage, and he's not destroyed by this battle."

Kaiba: 6400  
Andrew: 5000

"That's a shame," Andrew said. "I was hoping to wipe you out, but I guess that's yet to come. So I'll just Set these two cards face-down and end my turn."

"Then it's my move!" Kaiba declared drawing his next card. Meanwhile, in the stands, the others continued to watch.

"Man, dis is one tough duel," Joey said.

"Neither side is giving even an inch to the other," Yugi noted.

"That's my brother for ya," Matt said. "He may not always play seriously, but when he does, he's a force to be reckoned with."

As Kaiba looked over the cards in his hand, the foul wind emerged and weakened his dragon even further.

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (12/**4000**/3300 - 12/**3500**/2800)

"I'm not out of the running yet," Kaiba said. "I'll attack that copycat with my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Show him what a real Neutron Blast looks like!"

The dragon roared and began charging its power.

"He's lost it!" Joey yelped.

"Maybe not," Yugi noted.

"And now I activate my Shrink magic card!" Kaiba continued. "This will reduce the attack of a monster down to half of its original attack points. And since your monster's Attack was originally 0, its current Attack is reduced to the same amount!"

"Not too shabby," Andrew nodded, "but I'm not going to let you get away with that. I activate Ancient Heroes' Chain Bomb!"

Out from the new card, a chain shot out towards Kaiba's Shrink card, piercing through it and attaching a bomb to it. The chain hurtled towards Kaiba's deck and pierced through it as well.

"With this card," Andrew explained, "I can negate the activation and effect of a card you just played and destroy it. In addition, I destroy all the other cards of the same name in each of our decks. Of course, I happen to know I don't have any Shrink cards in my deck, but who knows how many you have. Oh, and there's one other small thing to note."

The chain withdrew from Kaiba's deck, showing no other cards. Then the bomb attached to the Shrink on the field exploded, and Kaiba's Life Points got caught up in the explosion.

Kaiba: 5900  
Andrew: 5000

"For each copy that gets destroyed, you lose 500 Life Points," Andrew continued. "And since the card was negated, Morpher still has all his attack points which means..."

At that moment everyone realized what he was getting at, and the dragon fired off its Neutron Blast at the false dragon. The false dragon counted with its own attack, which overpowered the original's attack and furthermore wiped out Kaiba's dragon, taking down his Life Points.

Kaiba: 5400  
Andrew: 5000

"Seems you won't get much further than that, Kaiba," Andrew said. Kaiba simply glared and looked at the lone card in his hand once more.

"Just go," he finished.

"Gladly," Andrew said, drawing a new card. "And now, Kaiba, I believe you will be the first to lay witness to the strength of one of the strongest Ancient Heroes! In order to summon him properly, I need to sacrifice three of my other Ancient Heroes, and so with the powers of my Ancient Hero Guardian, Ancient Hero Mirage, and Ancient Hero Morpher, I summon my Ancient Hero Ultimus (9/3900/3500)!"

A glowing aura surrounded each of the Ancient Heroes in play, transforming them into three different orbs of light. The orbs rose up into the sky and formed a single vertical line. The lowest of the orbs transformed into a large circular platform, from which a small statue of a seated winged human appeared, its hands crossed over its chest, its knees coming up to its chest, and its wings expanded. The head of the statue was a decorative ornate jar into which the second of the orbs dove into. The third orb split itself into three smaller orbs which then grew into equal sizes, the two on the sides sprouting clear wings from their shadowed sides and gaining two distinct circles in their lighter sides. The highest orb glowed brighter like a sun and split open to reveal an eye of sorts. From this orb, two curved beams poured into the winged orbs, connecting the triad together as a curious spirit poked out of the jar where the middle orb had dived into. The spirit spiraled out, the distinctive Ancient Heroes' A on its body, and it spread its two pairs of smaller curved wings as it raised its hand towards the solar eye, completing the transformation.

"What in the world..." was all Kaiba could say as he looked upon the monster in awe.

"Dat monster's got 3900 Atk points!" Joey exclaimed. The others were equally awed by the new monster's appearance.

"Behold, Kaiba," Andrew announced. "The arrival of Ancient Hero Ultimus now dawns upon you. And now, Ultimus, unleash your divine fury upon Kaiba! Attack him directly!"

The spirit pulsed a power within the eye of the sun, which opened wide and fired down a great beam of light upon Kaiba, burning away at his Life Points.

Kaiba: 1500  
Andrew: 5000

"If I didn't know you well enough, Kaiba," Andrew commented, "I would say you should surrender. Of course, I know you won't, and you've got more than enough Life Points to make a comeback. Time to try your luck with your next draw!"

Kaiba looked up at Andrew. "If you end up defeating me today," he said, "I ask this one thing: that you go all the way."

He looked towards Yugi in the stands. "I may lose to you now," he continued, "but my one true rival, the only person I consider to be my equal, is Yugi. So if you're better than me, then you're better than him as well."

Turning his gaze back to Andrew and drawing a card, he concluded, "I want you to prove that to me in the final match."

"Should probably focus on this one first," Andrew noted. "But I'll go for it."

"Good," Kaiba said. "I'll activate my last card then, Dragon's Mirror! With it, I'm able to summon a Dragon-type Fusion Monster from my deck provided I have the monsters needed for it in my Graveyard."

"Then I activate my face-down," Andrew said. "It's called Ancient Heroes' Seal, and it works similarly to my Chain Bomb."

The new card lashed out with three different scrolls decorated with seals on them, which stopped Kaiba's Spell card and sought for any other cards in his Deck.

"I negate and destroy your Dragon's Mirror on the field, as well as destroy any Dragon's Mirror cards in your deck," Andrew continued. "After that, those cards can't be used for the remainder of the Duel."

Coming up negative, all three seals dragged the one Dragon's Mirror to the Graveyard.

"Then it's your move," Kaiba said.

"The last turn, then," Andrew declared, drawing a card. "Before all that happens, though, Ultimus' effect activates, giving him an additional 500 Atk points during the Standby Phase."

Ancient Hero Ultimus (9/**3900**/3500 - 9/**4400**/3500)

"And now, Ancient Hero Ultimus, attack Kaiba's Life Points directly!"

The spirit once again charged up the eye with energy and fired down a ray of light upon Kaiba, burning away the rest of his Life Points.

Kaiba: 0  
Andrew: 5000

"And the winner of the match is Andrew!" the admin called out.

The others looked on as Andrew gathered his cards and looked back up at Kaiba for a moment. Kaiba though had already turned his back and walked away. Andrew looked back up into the stands, smiled, gave a thumbs-up, and then headed out the door as well. Yugi watched him on his way out.

_A deck of indestructible monsters. And a monster that gets stronger every turn. He may just be my toughest opponent yet._

* * *

"Mr. Zero, sir, we've found some results in regards to the search you wanted us to perform earlier."

"And?"

"So far, we have confirmed at least three duelists as suspects. We haven't quite gotten through all the results just yet, but we should have the end results by the time the last semifinal match ends."

"Fair enough. Who's on the list so far?"

"Right now, we suspect that Lucky Lynn and Leila Kimber - two of the finalists - are not who they appeared to be, as per your instructions."

"And who's the third?"

"Well, our third is a little iffy. We're not entirely 100% certain-"

"That's usually what it means to have something confirmed."

"Understood."

"So who is it?"

"Monica Toronto."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Say WHAAAAA?! Monica is a suspect in an investigation?! And so are Lucky Lynn and even Leila?! What's going on! Do the cards hold the answer?

**Ancient Hero Bladegon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 2000 Atk, 1200 Def, Dinosaur, EARTH  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. When this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict Piercing Battle Damage to your opponent. If this card attacks, it cannot attack during your next turn.

**City of the Ancient Pyramids** (Field Spell card)  
Effect: "Ancient Hero" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by your opponent's card effects. When this card would be destroyed, you can Tribute 1 "Ancient Hero" monster you control to negate its destruction.

**Spell Split Duo** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Flip a coin twice and call it each time. Each time you call the result correctly, inflict 500 damage to your opponent and gain 500 Life Points.

**Lord of D. **(Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1200 Atk, 1100 Def, Spellcaster, DARK  
Effect: Face-up Dragon-Type monsters cannot be targeted by Spells, Traps, or card effects.

**The Flute of Summoning Dragon** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Activate only while there is a "Lord of D." on the field. Special Summon up to 2 Dragon-Type monsters from your hand.

**Curse of the Ancients** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: When this card activates, inflict 500 damage to your opponent. Then during each player's Standby Phase, decrease the Atk and Def of your opponent's monster by 500.

**Mystical Space Typhoon** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: Destroy 1 Spell or Trap card on the field.

**Ancient Hero Guardian** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 800 Atk, 2000 Def, Rock, EARTH  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Double any Battle Damage your opponent takes from battles involving this card.

**Ancient Hero Mirage** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 2, 1100 Atk, 200 Def, Warrior, LIGHT  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. You take no Battle Damage from battles involving this card.

**Soul Exchange** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: During this turn, you can Tribute monsters on your opponent's side of the field as if you controlled them.  
NOTE: This is based on the anime effect of Soul Exchange, also sometimes known as Cross Sacrifice. In the real-game, a player can only Tribute 1 selected monster on the opponent's side of the field, and they cannot declare an attack during the turn the card is activated.

**Ancient Time Acceleration** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Activate while you control a face-up "Ancient Hero" monster. Look at the top three cards of your Deck, then put any number of those cards at the bottom and return the others on top in any order. Then draw a number of cards equal to the number of cards you placed at the bottom.

**Ancient Hero Morpher** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 0 Atk, 0 Def, Aqua, WATER  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Once per turn, you can select 1 monster on the field. This card copies that card's name, Level, Atk, Def, Type, Attribute, and effects (it retains its other effects). This lasts for as long as this card is face-up on the field or until its effect is activated again.

**Shrink** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: Halve the original Atk of 1 monster on the field.  
NOTE: There's a lot of weird rulings in regards to Shrink's effect, but the key one to note is this ruling:

"The effect of "Shrink" works like "Megamorph", setting a new current ATK based on original ATK. If the same monster is targeted by both "Shrink" and "Megamorph", only the effect of the card that resolved last will be applied."

With this in mind, the new current Atk that Ancient Hero Morpher would have had would be based on its original printed Atk, since Ancient Hero Morpher only copies the Atk of its target and thus gains Atk based on its target.

**Ancient Heroes' Chain Bomb** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: When a card is activated, negate its activation and effect. Then both players search their Decks for any card(s) with the same name and destroys all of them. For each card destroyed by this effect, inflict 500 damage to that player's Life Points.

**Ancient Hero Ultimus** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 9, 3900 Atk, 3500 Def, Fairy, LIGHT  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned. You must Tribute 3 "Ancient Hero" monsters you control to Special Summon this card (from your hand). This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Whenever this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon it. During your Standby Phase, this card gains 500 Atk.

**Dragon's Mirror** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Remove from play, from your side of the field or Graveyard, Fusion Material Monsters that are listed on a Dragon-Type Fusion monster and Special Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck (this is treated as a Fusion Summon).

**Ancient Heroes' Seal** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: When a card is activated, negate its activation and effect. Then both players search their Decks for any card(s) with the same name and destroys all of them. Neither player can use any card with the same name as the destroyed cards for the rest of the Duel.

It looks like Yugi will be dueling Monica, our suspect-in-training, in the next round! What dark secret is she hiding behind that helmet of hers? And what's her relation to Leila and Lynn? Can Yugi perform the task Leila gave him, or will he fall to Monica's supreme speed deck? Time to rev it up in the next chapter!


	18. The King of Games vs The Racing Queen

Chapter 18: The King of Games vs. The Racing Queen

Yugi checked on his deck one last time. He knew this next duel was going to be tough, but he also knew what he needed to do.

_Leila said we need to save that girl,_ he said to Yami, who floated by his side. _And if Monica is that girl, then we owe it to Leila to save her._

_Indeed,_ Yami concurred.

_The only problem is that we don't even know where to begin,_ Yugi said. _We don't even know how we're supposed to save her._

_If my hunch is correct,_ Yami mused, _it may be that this duel is the only way to save her. Somehow through dueling her, we're supposed to gather the necessary means by which to save her._

_I hope so,_ Yugi said. _If not that, then we won't have anything else to go on._

_Then we just need to put our faith in the heart of the cards,_ Yami said, placing his hand on Yugi's shoulder. _Fate will decide how the events of this duel will unfold._

Yugi nodded. _You're right,_ he said, putting the finishing touches up on his deck and setting it into his Duel Disk. Yami nodded and disappeared as Yugi left the room for the race track.

"There's the man of the hour!"

As Yugi arrived at the race track, Andrew greeted him with a warm smile. "Your friends have already taken their place up in the stands," he said, "so I thought I'd send you their good will as well as my own."

Yugi nodded. "I'm just worried about having to drive one of these Duel Runners," he noted.

"Don't worry about it," Andrew said. "We've made modifications to your particular Duel Runner to ensure your own personal safety while you Duel. Mostly to note, we've given it a more active auto-pilot feature, so it'll drive itself while you Duel."

"That's convenient," Yugi said.

"Indeed it is!" Andrew said. Then he leaned forward and said directly to Yugi, "I do hope you make it to the final round. It would be a true honor to Duel you at the very top of the tower. And between you and me, I'm not entirely sure about how well I'd do at a Riding Duel."

Yugi gulped. Suddenly a large bundle of nerves seemed to stir up inside him, and he had the strange sensation of butterflies flying around his stomach. Andrew seemed to have noticed, standing up straight and saying, "I imagine you'll do just fine though, so just have fun and do your best!"

With that, Andrew took off into the hallway behind Yugi, undoubtedly getting ready for commentating again. Yugi looked over to the Duel Runner he would be riding, a determined look in his eyes.

_I have to win this Duel,_ he thought. _Not only for the sake of the God cards but to save Monica from whatever Leila warned me about._

At that moment, a small vibration buzzed in his pocket. Yugi retrieved the buzzing PDA to see a call coming from it. Answering, Yugi came face-to-face with Andrew again.

"By the way, Yugi," he said smiling that broad grin of his, "no pressure or anything, but Matt's gonna be watching your Duel like he did mine. Just thought I'd let you know!"

And before Yugi could respond, Andrew disconnected the call. Yugi sighed as the PDA buzzed once again, and when he answered the call, it was Joey.

"Yo Yug!" he said. "Just wanted to wish ya good luck on this Riding Duel!"

"Thanks," Yugi replied. "I'm probably going to need it."

"You bet you will!" Joey sneered, then he was suddenly pushed out of the way by Tristan.

"You can do it, Yugi!" Tristan called out. "We're rooting for you all the way!"

At that moment, Joey wrestled Tristan off the camera, then after a dizzying mix of images in which the PDA must have flipped up into the air, Tea caught it and appeared on the screen.

"I hope you win, Yugi," she said simply.

"Thanks Tea," he replied.

"Do your best!"

And with that, the call ended. Yugi smiled and walked to the Duel Runner, knowing his friends were behind him all the way. He put the helmet on and cruised the Runner over to the starting line where Monica sat, all ready and raring to go.

"May the best Duelist win," Yugi said to her, but he received no response. This was a little off-putting, but Yugi understood and turned his attention to in front of him.

Just then, Andrew's voice once again came out over the speakers: "Welcome back, Duelists everywhere, young and old, highly skilled, prestigious, and honorable all! We're here again with another Turbo Duel here on the race track featuring our undefeated Turbo Duelist Monica 'DK' Toronto! Challenging her on the runway now is the renowned King of Games, fellow semifinalist Yugi Muto! This Duel will decide which of these two rivaling 'kings' will move on to the final match against the triumphant Andrew, who took down Seto Kaiba in the previous semifinal match!"

"Get on with it!" a snide comment could be overheard distantly.

"I'm getting there!" Andrew's voice responded. "Now, racers, duelists, fans, rev up your engines!"

The starting signal flashed red.

"Cause it's time!"

Another red light flashed on!

"To DUEL!"

And with that, the two Runners charged out of the starting line!

"For those of you unfamiliar with the rules of Turbo Dueling," Andrew's voice continued, "it's a race to the finish where either a player losing all of their Life Points or crossing the finish first will bring victory! And the first turn is decided on by whoever takes the first curve!"

The two Runners charged forth towards the first curve of the track. Yugi watched Monica carefully as she managed to get in front of him. He pumped a little more into the acceleration of his Runner and attempted to get inside. Then suddenly, Monica's Runner fell back behind his as they passed the curve.

"What's this? It looks like Monica's letting Yugi take the curve first!" Andrew's voice announced. "The duel will start with Yugi taking the first turn!"

Yugi: 8000  
Monica: 8000

"Why'd she do dat?" Joey wondered aloud. "Dat ain't like her at all."

"Dunno," Tristan replied.

"Maybe she wanted Yugi to take the first turn?" Tea thought aloud.

"But why?" Joey continued to wonder. To this, Tea didn't have a response.

Meanwhile on the course, Yugi looked back at Monica as his Runner guided him around the track. Monica looked up towards him and called out, "Well? It's your move. I'm giving you the first turn, but don't think that means I'll give you more than that. I plan to Duel you with everything I've got."

Yugi continued to look back before finally drawing a card and announcing, "It's my turn!"

As he looked over his hand, Yugi thought about Monica. _She's definitely off her game at the moment,_ he thought. _I should play defensive for now._

"I Set a monster and a card face-down and end my turn," Yugi declared, with the cards he played appearing behind his runner.

"Is that all? I hope you're not going to hold back like that for this Duel," Monica taunted as she drew her next card.

"You're one to talk!" Yugi called back.

"Just call it strategy," Monica said. "I summon Speedy Dragon (4/1600/400) to the field in Attack mode!"

The ever familiar yellow dragon appeared wielding its signature arm blades and preparing for a strike!

"And due to his ability," Monica continued, "I'm forced to go straight into the Battle Phase and attack your monster! But now I activate the Sudden Stop card to halt my Speedy Dragon's hasty strike and end my Battle Phase!"

Just as the dragon prepared to take off and charge down Yugi's monster, the spell card took effect and barricaded the dragon before it could reach its target!

"And now I'll play Acceleration Evolution!, so that my Speedy Dragon can evolve into Turbo Dragon (6/2200/1100)!" Monica declared.

With that said, the yellow dragon disappeared and was replaced by the supercharged red dragon, which roared in triumph as it was summoned to the field.

"Next I'll Set this card face-down," Monica continued, "and then I activate the spell card Booby Trap!"

Just as Monica's card was Set on the field, her spell card appeared and triggered it, revealing Time Limit!

"Now with Booby Trap, I can activate my Time Limit card without having to wait the extra turn," Monica explained. "Of course, to use Time Limit, I need to pay 2000 Life Points."

Yugi: 8000  
Monica: 6000

"Oh my!" Andrew's voice announced. "In a single turn, Monica's stopped her own attack, summoned out a strong monster, and now she's put this Duel in a bind! Now if the Duel doesn't end in 20 turns, it'll end in a Draw, meaning this Duel better be over by the time turn 22 ends!"

"Your announcer friend's right, Yugi," Monica said. "Now we have to put forth our best effort to beat the other one before the timer runs out! You can't afford to stall out on me now! Now I Set one last card and end my turn!"

(Time Limit: 20 turns)

Back in the stands, Yugi's friends watched as the screens showed the events unfold.

"Wait a sec," Joey said, "I know dat card!"

"Which one?" Tea asked.

"Booby Trap!," Joey answered. "I remember seeing it before with dat one girl I beat at da beginning of da bracket tournament."

"You mean Lucky Lynn?" Tristan said.

"Yeah, she's da one!" Joey said. "I wonder if dat Booby Trap! card's really dat popular."

Back on the track, Yugi drew his next card. "I'll Flip Summon my Queen's Knight (4/1500/1600) into Attack mode and summon forth King's Knight (4/1600/1200) to aid her!"

Yugi's Set monster flipped over and revealed the red lady knight, then the yellow bearded knight appeared by her side.

"And when King's Knight is Normal Summoned while Queen's Knight is on the field," Yugi continued, "I'm allowed to summon Jack's Knight (5/1900/1000) to the field as well!"

With that, the two knights crossed their blades and summoned forth their young blue companion.

"And now I activate Brain Control!" Yugi said. "By paying 800 Life Points, I can take control of your Turbo Dragon for this turn!"

Yugi: 7200  
Monica: 6000

From the spell card appeared several tendrils that wrapped around Turbo Dragon and moved it over to Yugi's side of the field!

"Whoa! With that move, Yugi has left his opponent almost completely defenseless!" Andrew said. "If these attacks go through, Yugi will win the match right here and now!"

"Go get er, Yug!" Joey called out from the stands.

"And now, my knights," Yugi declared, "attack Monica's Life Points directly!"

The knights banded together and charged at Monica brandishing their blades!

"Not if I can help it," Monica called out. "I pay 3000 Life Points to activate the Wall of Revealing Light!"

At that moment, the knights' attack was intercepted by a magnificent barrier of light, forcing the knights to fall back!

Yugi: 7200  
Monica: 3000

"With my Wall of Revealing Light in play," Monica explained, "any of your monsters with less than 3000 Atk points can't attack me or my monsters, so it looks like you're out of luck."

_That card..._

"Nyeh? Dat card..." Joey said as he watched on. "Dat card was in another one of my duels too."

"Yeah, you're right. That was when you dueled against that snobby rich girl, Vicky," Tristan said.

"Maybe it's a coincidence?" Tea suggested.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," Joey said. "But something tells me dat something's up with dis duel."

Back on the race track, Yugi picked out another card in his hand. "You may have your Wall of Revealing Light," he declared, "but I have my Swords of Revealing Light! Now I can stop your attacks for 3 turns!"

With that said, shining swords of light surrounded Monica's Runner, preparing to hold off any of her attacks that might come.

"That's all I can do for now," Yugi announced. With that said, Monica's Turbo Dragon returned to her side.

(Time Limit: 19 turns)

"Looks like it's my turn then," Monica said, drawing her next card. "And now I summon Cure Mermaid (4/1500/800) in Attack Mode!"

The blonde-haired mermaid appeared swimming through the air, ready to aid her master. Seeing yet another familiar monster, Joey suddenly stood up and headed for the aisle.

"Where are you off to?" Tristan asked.

"Dere's just something I gotta know," Joey said. "I'll be back as soon as I can!"

And with that, Joey ran off. At that point, Andrew's voice came over the speakers: "Whoa! That's not been in her deck before! Seems Monica's made a few tune-ups to her road-rage strategy, which goes to show ya that she knows exactly who she's going up against!"

Pulling himself away from the microphone, Andrew looked back at Matt, seated behind him watching the large screen stationed in the control booth. Izzy walked up to Matt again, a new report in hand.

"Well, it looks like we found a couple more suspect duelists in the rosters," Izzy said. "That makes seven now: Lynn, Leila, Monica, Gwen, Vicky, and now Julie Vastrokov and Juliet Stromberg."

"Seven duelists?" Matt asked. "That is rather troubling."

"We're working on seeing if any of the other duelists fit in the category we're looking under," Izzy continued. "Right now, Joe Kari Spades and Leanna Warner are also being looked into."

"And if they're confirmed, that will make nine duelists total," Matt finished the thought.

"Indeed," Izzy concurred, adjusting her glasses. At that moment, Creighton and Shannon joined the two, talking about something amongst themselves as they approached.

"Hey Matt," Creighton chimed in, "can you help settle a bet? Or maybe you'd like to join in on the pot?"

"Can it wait? I'm dealing with something important," Matt said dismissively.

"Yeah, over the whole 'duelist crisis', I know," Creighton said. "We're betting on what exactly it is. Shannon here thinks it's got something to do with them all being the same person. Talk about a lack of imagination! I personally think it's more like a secret organization of aliens come to Earth in order to-"

"Wait a minute," Matt interrupted him, turning to Shannon. "You think they're the same person?"

Shannon blushed a little bit and mumbled, "Well, it just seems like they look a lot alike..."

A moment of silence pervaded through the small group. Then Matt said, "Izzy, bring up the head shots of the suspected duelists on the screen."

Izzy complied, accessing the database and bringing up the faces of all the duelists onscreen. Creighton snuffed and said, "I don't see it. They all look like different people to me."

"Actually, I can see a small sort of resemblance in the facial structure," Izzy noted, to which Creighton snorted and muttered some sort of "brainiac" comment.

"Overlay the pictures and look for similar comparisons," Matt said.

A quick set of tapping upon the keys, and the pictures of the various duelists overlaid entirely on each other. An outline of their heads appeared, showing only a single line entirely around. The screen then flashed a green sign: "100% Match"

"So their heads are the same, big deal," Creighton said.

"Actually, considering each person's head shape could be affected during growth by any number of events, not to mention the genetic structure of each human is uniquely different, the chances of so many people having the exact same facial structure is slim to none," Izzy explicated, to which Creighton once again snorted.

"Find a full cranial scan of each duelist using the footage from all the duels recorded," Matt delegated, "and also look for identifying features - birthmarks, freckles, moles, shape of eyes, ears, nose, mouth, body structure - find the patterns, and get back with the results ASAP!"

"Yes sir!"

With that, the three ran off to the tech service, Creighton shouting out, "Well you heard the man, get a move on!" Izzy walked behind and sat at a computer, working as quickly as she could, and Shannon resumed her position, though she had a distinct smile on her face.

Andrew resumed his attention back to the duel. "And now Yugi's beginning his next turn," he announced.

(Time Limit: 18 turns)  
(Swords of Revealing Light: 2 turns left)

Having drawn his card by that point, Yugi looks over his hand once again as the Runners proceeded around the next bend in the track.

"I sacrifice my Queen's Knight in order to summon the Archfiend of Gilfer (6/2200/2500) in Attack mode!" Yugi declared, replacing his red female knight with the powerful and fearsome demon. "That should do it for now."

(Time Limit: 17 turns)

"Is that really the best you can do?" Monica taunted, drawing a card. "I'm not even sure if you're giving it your all in this duel."

"I should be saying the same thing to you, Monica," Yugi called back. "You seem to be talking a big game, but you're not really doing much otherwise."

"And just when did you become some sort of psychoanalytical duelist?" Monica called out.

"Since Leila Kimber asked me to help you!"

For a brief moment, Monica looked shocked. Then she put on a resolute face and said, "I don't need any help. You're probably mistaken, and that would be two things you're mistaken on: who I am and my ability to win this duel! And with Cure Mermaid giving me 800 Life Points back each Standby Phase, I'd say that I'm about to turn this duel around!"

Yugi: 7200  
Monica: 3800

"Now I discard Prophecy Seeker (1/0/0) from my hand so that now I can see all the cards in your hand and any cards you should have Set on the field for me," Monica declared, sending the mage to her graveyard. With that done, Yugi's hand was-

"Not so fast!" Yugi said. "I activate the trap card Disappear! This allows me to remove from play a card in my opponent's Graveyard, and so I choose the Prophecy Seeker you just sent there."

With that said, the mage faded away into nothingness. Suddenly Monica grimaced, winced, and shouted in pain. Everyone had their eyes on her, wondering what was going on.

"I won't go back...I can't go back there..."

Then just as suddenly as she was pained, she recovered and called out, "I end my turn!"

(Time Limit: 16 turns)  
(Swords of Revealing Light: 1 turn left)

_I think we're finally reaching into her, _Yugi thought, drawing his next card.

_Be careful, Yugi,_ Yami said, appearing beside him. _I'm sensing a lot of pain from her, but I also sense something dark and sinister._

_I'll try_, Yugi thought back, then he turned his attention back to the duel and said, "Now I'll use my Graceful Charity, which will allow me to draw three new cards and discard two."

After proceeding to draw that number of cards, Yugi once again perused his hand. "I think I'll Set this one card face-down and end my turn," Yugi said, ending his turn quickly.

(Time Limit: 15 turns)

Monica drew her next card without a word. Looking at her newfound card, Monica smiled. "First things first," she said, "I gain 800 Life Points thanks to Cure Mermaid!"

Yugi: 7200  
Monica: 4600

"And now I play Acceleration Evolution! to evolve Turbo Dragon into the mighty Nitros Dragon (8/2800/1800)!" Monica declared, sacrificing her red dragon and bringing forth the mighty blue-green dragon, the ace of her deck!

"Seems like you won't be able to beat me for a while," Monica said, "at least not with this guy around! Prepare to meet your end!"

"I don't think so," Yugi said. "I figured you'd end up summoning out your dragon, so that's why I play my Dark Renewal trap card!"

"What?!"

Suddenly, an ornate coffin appeared and opened up, sucking away the energy from Monica's Nitros Dragon as well as Yugi's Archfiend of Gilfer!

"With this trap card, when you summon a monster to the field," Yugi explained, "I'm allowed to sacrifice it along with one of my monsters in order to bring back a Spellcaster from the Graveyard!"

"But that's not possible!" Monica retorted. "I never sent a Spellcaster to your Graveyard!"

"You didn't, but I did," Yugi continued, "with the power of Graceful Charity!"

Monica gasped, realizing what Yugi's strategy really was as her monster was sucked into the coffin along with Yugi's. Then the coffin sealed upon itself and then reopened, revealing none other than the Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)!

"What an incredible turnabout!" Andrew's voice called out into the audience. "Anticipating his opponent's ace monster, Yugi has been able to strategically use it to his advantage and bring out his own ace monster! If I were Monica, I'd hope that Wall of Revealing Light remained in place so Yugi doesn't finish her off!"

Monica grimaced again and shouted, "I switch Cure Mermaid to Defense mode and end my turn!"

Cure Mermaid (4/**1500**/800 - 4/1500/**800**)

With the end of her turn, the floating swords surrounding her and her monster disappeared, signaling the end of Yugi's card effect.

(Time Limit: 14 turns)  
(Swords of Revealing Light: 0 turn left)

Meanwhile just outside of the control booth, Joey began knocking on the door. "Hey!" he shouted out. "Lemme in dere! I need ta talk with someone now!"

Eventually, one of the guards opened the door. "Sorry," he said, "we don't allow tournament participants into this room. Restricted access only."

"Ya gotta let me in," Joey said. "I know something about dat Monica girl!"

"Monica?" The guard mused over this for a moment before saying, "One moment."

He disappeared behind the door for a few minutes as Joey waited; then the door opened again, and the guard said, "You may come in."

Joey followed the guard into the control booth and up to none other than Matt Zero, who was busy getting a new report from Izzy.

"All these duelists match up perfectly," Izzy said as Joey approached. "Each one is identical in several different areas, making the statistical likelihood of them being individually different as opposed to being the same person approximately-"

"Yo Matt!" Joey interrupted, bringing the attention of the conversation to him. Matt seemed surprised. "Joey?" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I have ta tell ya something about dat Monica girl," Joey stated.

Matt and Izzy looked at each other for a moment before Matt addressed Joey again. "Well, what is it?" he asked.

"Some of dose cards she's been playing? Da ones dat don't seem to fit in with her deck? I've seen dem before in some of my other duels with other duelists," Joey said.

"That seems perfectly normal," Izzy said. "Cards are printed in bulk, for the most part, so it's not surprising that-"

Matt silenced her with a motion of his hand. "What are the names of everyone you've dueled in the finals of the tournament?" he asked.

Joey took a moment to recollect his many opponents' names. Eventually, he said, "Well, dere was Lucky Lynn, Vicky Queens, Gwen Mitchell, and Monica herself."

Matt nodded. "It seems that you've run into our mysterious friend," he said to Joey. "We suspect that the four duelists you've dueled - and several others - may in fact be the same person."

"What?!"

"Indeed," Izzy agreed. "We've compared them on several different criteria, to which they match up perfectly-"

"It seems our theory about our friend on the race track is growing into truth," Matt said. "But who is she then?"

He reached into his pocket and closed his eyes. A moment of silence occurred before Matt opened his eyes again. "Run the names and find a common background," Matt said to Izzy.

"On it!" she said, heading back to her desk.

Matt looked back out onto the race track. _If there's a connection leading back to her,_ he thought, _Yugi is in some big trouble._

Back out on the race course, the duelists were beginning their approach to Death Mountain. Yugi drew his next card before turning back to Monica.

"It's okay to be scared, Monica," he said. "I know I have to help you somehow, but I need to know how to help you! What I'm helping you with."

"Well if you're so desperate to help me, you can start with your move!" Monica shouted back.

"Just listen to me! I'm here to help!" Yugi called out. "Leila told me that-"

"Whoever this Leila person is, you can just eat her words and your own," Monica retaliated. "All I've done is come here to win, and that's exactly what I plan on doing."

"That's not the only reason though, is it?"

"That's the only reason I need!"

"Then I guess that's all the reason I need to do this!" Yugi declared. "I activate my Dark Magic Attack spell card, which allows me to destroy all of your Spells and Traps including your Wall of Revealing Light!"

With the power of his spell card, Yugi's Dark Magician unleashed a powerful wave of dark energy at the Wall of Revealing Light, causing it to crack, break, and shatter! Monica appeared shocked and traumatized.

"Now my monsters attack! King's Knight attacks Cure Mermaid while Jack's Knight and Dark Magician attack you directly!"

With that said, the bearded knight slashed away at the mermaid, destroying her as the blue knight and the mighty magician launched their attacks at Monica directly! The force of the blows kicked up a surge of smoke, obscuring Monica in its wake!

Yugi: 7200  
Monica: 200

"Looks like Yugi's taken total advantage of this duel!" Andrew's voice called out. "He's run the Racing Queen right into a corner! Will Monica be able to pull out of this? Or is it the end of the line for her?"

"...no...not yet! It's not the end yet!"

Suddenly out of the smoke, Monica's Runner charged forth and rushed past Yugi at incredible speed.

"I have one last way to win this," she said, "and that's get to the mountain before you!"

She blasted off towards the mountain, forcing Yugi to pursue rapidly with his own Runner. Then just as he went into the mountain, he was forced to stop again. Monica was now blocking his path with her Runner.

"I'm not about to let you get away from me, Yugi," she said, pulling out what appeared to be a small remote detonator. "Not yet!"

She flicked off the top and pressed the button. At that moment, several things occurred simultaneously. The monitors keeping track of the duel were suddenly shut off, much to the disappointment of the crowd.

"Hey, we came to see a duel, not a fuzzy screen!"

"What happened to the picture?"

"This reminds me of this one time where-"

"Nobody cares to hear about that!"

In the control booth, Izzy approached Matt. "I ran a background check on the duelists," she began, "and there does appear to be-"

Suddenly, all the equipment in the entire control booth blacked out. Everyone inside began wondering what was going on. Several of them attempted to turn their computers back on with no success. Andrew tried working on his microphone.

"Uh, well it appears we're having technical difficulties," he said to no one in particular.

And then everyone heard it. An explosion just right outside the entrance to Death Mountain caused the stones above it to collapse and block off the entryway. Yugi and Monica were trapped in Death Mountain!

Yugi couldn't really distract himself with the blocked off entrance, though, as he was now focused on Monica, who had fallen to the ground, moaning and writhing in pain.

"Monica, are you okay?" he asked insistently, though it was rather evident that she wasn't. She continued squirming and such before clawing and digging deep into her neck, pulling off what appeared to be her skin. Yugi was appalled until he realized that it wasn't skin that she was tearing off but a fleshy latex mask of some kind.

Tossing away the mask, Monica stood up and then pulled out of her eyes two small brown-colored contact lenses, tossing them aside as well. It became apparent to Yugi that Monica was no longer Monica anymore.

"Alright," he said calmly, "who are you? What's your name?"

"...my name? That's something even I'm not sure of."

The renewed girl turned back to Yugi, revealing a much plainer face. Each of her eyes was bright and piercing, one a cold and icy blue, the other a mellow and minty green. She removed the riding suit she wore, much to Yugi's embarrassment as he averted his eyes, but she was perfectly clothed underneath in dark and what seemed like impossibly large robes.

"All I know is my identities, my other selves," she said. "I am merely the centerfold of them all. You are probably the first to get a glimpse of the vessel beneath those masks, the avatar to each of my spirits, the one behind every alias you've encountered. I should say though that this is not without reason or purpose."

Looking back and realizing the girl's state of dress, Yugi resumed his gaze and said, "It's because I was told to save you by-"

"By Leila Kimber, the identity of prophecy," the girl interrupted. "Indeed, each of my identities is unique, but she is perhaps the only one who could have told you anything about my state of being."

"And who's state of being would that be?" Yugi asked.

"Again, you seek a name I don't seem to have," the girl said. "But if you must call me by something...perhaps Kari Asaila will do. It is the one name that I can recall that is different from my identities."

"And what am I helping you with?"

"Finding out who I am."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Whoa. So Yugi was meant to help out Monica...I mean, Kari after all. It looks like the stakes have changed, but the cards certainly haven't:

**Booby Trap!** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: Activate 1 face-down Trap card that you Set this turn.

**Queen's Knight** (Normal Monster card)  
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1600 Def, Warrior, LIGHT

**King's Knight** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1600 Atk, 1400 Def, Warrior, LIGHT  
Effect: When you Normal Summon this card while you control "Queen's Knight", Special Summon 1 "Jack's Knight" from your Deck.

**Jack's Knight** (Normal Monster card)  
Level 5, 1900 Atk, 1000 Def, Warrior, LIGHT

**Wall of Revealing Light** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: Pay any amount of Life Points in multiples of 1000. Your opponent cannot attack with monsters that have an Atk less than or equal to the amount you paid.

**Swords of Revealing Light** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: When activated, flip all face-down monsters your opponent controls face-up. This card remains on the field for 3 of your opponent's turns. While this card is on the field, your opponent cannot attack your monsters.

**Cure Mermaid** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 800 Def, Fish, WATER  
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, you gain 800 Life Points during your Standby Phase.

**Prophecy Seeker** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 1, 0 Atk, 0 Def, Spellcaster, DARK  
Effect: During your turn, you can discard this card from your hand to the Graveyard. If you do, while this card is in your Graveyard, your opponent must reveal all the cards in their hand and all cards they draw, as well as show you what cards they Set on the field.

**Disappear** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Remove from play 1 card from your opponent's Graveyard.

**Graceful Charity** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Draw 3 cards, then discard 2 cards.

**Dark Renewal **(Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate when your opponent Summons a monster or declares an attack with a monster. Send 1 monster your opponent Summoned this turn and 1 monster you control to the Graveyard, and Special Summon 1 Spellcaster-Type monster from your Graveyard.

**Dark Magic Attack** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: If you control a face-up "Dark Magician", destroy all Spell and Trap cards your opponent controls.

With the revelation of this new duelist, will Yugi and Yami be able to fulfill Leila's request and help her? Or will Kari's appearance change the entirety of the battle? There's only one place to find out!


	19. Revelation and Return

Chapter 19: Revelation and Return

"Asaila, huh?"

"Indeed."

"Then it's just as I feared."

Matt looked over the report once again as Joey, Andrew, Izzy, Creighton, and Shannon all looked at him. The rest of the control booth struggled to bring the equipment back up and running. In the meantime, the group had relocated into a small conference room of sorts nearby.

Matt stood, walked over to the window nearby, and looked outside it. "Asaila," he said, "is a name I only know of through delving into supernatural phenomenon. I hadn't thought I would hear the name again so soon."

"You saying you know who this person is?" Andrew asked curiously.

"Only by name, and even then that's not much," Matt answered. "There's little to know about the name except for the tragedy that befell them some years ago."

"Tragedy?" Shannon asked timidly.

"The mansion where the Asaila family used to live burned down due to unknown causes," Matt explained. "The entire family supposedly perished in the fire as well. However, rumor has it one of the daughters managed to escape the fire, something widely speculated on when firefighters only found the remains of the parents and ten of eleven children."

"Eleven children?!" Joey yelped.

"Dang, that's impressive," Creighton whistled.

"Regardless," Matt continued, "if it's to be believed that this person is in fact the missing daughter of the Asaila - the last of the line, as it were - then we may have a large danger here on the airship."

"How do ya figure?" Joey asked.

"Oh, ya know, no reason, except she blew up the entrance to where she and Yugi are now trapped, not to mention she hacked the system and scrambled everything to bits!" Creighton remarked.

"That would be the least of our concerns," Matt said, drawing the attention back to him. "I've only heard through word of mouth such things, but it may be the case that she is a dueling assassin."

"Assassin?!" Joey yelped again.

"Calm down," Andrew said, "I'm sure Yugi's doing just fine. Okay, so he's trapped in a mountain with an assassin, but in these kinds of cases, there's always a motive of sorts behind it."

"Exactly," Matt nodded. "The question then is what's her motive?"

"It's clear that her target was Yugi Muto," Izzy remarked. "Knocking out our equipment in order that we couldn't monitor them, blocking off the only easy access we have to them, disguising herself as ten different duelists in order to guarantee that at least one would win their way up. It may even be just the purpose of the Monica identity."

"Creating a unique set of rules that most duelists wouldn't be familiar with would give her an extreme advantage," Andrew added.

"But even knowing all of that, we still don't have a motive," Shannon objected.

"Well, we're only holding the most powerful cards in the world as a tournament prize," Creighton said.

"Somehow, I doubt she's after them," Matt said.

"It would seem to be far more trouble to go through all of this if she only wanted to get the God Cards," Izzy added.

"So why target Yugi?" Andrew asked again. A long moment of silence drew out in the room, with only the audible sounds of the workers over in the control booth working as hard as they could.

* * *

"It's good to meet you then, Kari."

"Likewise. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get the chance to confront you like this. Perhaps I should be thankful for that much."

Yugi and Kari stood there in the darkness of the mountain, looking at each other. It wasn't that long ago that Yugi was dueling Monica Toronto, but now the two stood face-to-face, an entirely new persona having taken Monica's place. A moment of silence seemed to pervade between the two. Eventually, Kari broke the silence with a laugh.

"Regardless of how I feel, though," she said, "it still has only gotten me so much closer to discovering who I am."

"How come you don't remember very well?" Yugi asked.

Kari shrugged. "To be honest, even I don't really know," she replied. "Perhaps it is the curse of wearing so many masks for so long."

"You mean the identities..."

"Yes. I guess that when you wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it. Having worn so many masks in my life, I haven't been able to recall myself in quite sometime."

"You seemed to at least remember your name," Yugi noted.

"If it's even my name," Kari pointed out. "I'm not even sure if this Kari Asaila is a real person anymore. But somehow I guess that's where you come in. Leila trusted you enough, it seems. Maybe she knew something I didn't? What was it that she knew that I don't?"

_Yugi_...

Just then, Yami appeared again by Yugi's side. _I think I know what we can do,_ Yami said to Yugi. _Let me take over the duel from now on._

_Alright, I'll trust you,_ Yugi said.

With that, the Millenium Puzzle began to glow as the swap between spirits occurred. Kari watched on in great fascination as Yugi switched places with Yami, the Nameless Pharaoh.

"Of course," Kari murmured. Then she asked, "So you can switch between personalities too?"

"In a sense," Yami replied. "I suspect it is the reason that Leila suggested I help you."

"Perhaps so," Kari said. "I hope then that you can help me. But where are my manners?"

Kari walked over to her Duel Runner and detached her Duel Disk from the contraption. She turned and walked over to Yami's Duel Runner and detached his Duel Disk as well. Handing it over to Yami, she said, "We still have a Duel that we're in the middle of, don't we?"

"Are you sure we should duel like this?" Yami asked.

"It's alright," Kari said. "Aside from my name, dueling's all I really remember. Perhaps I'll be able to recall a few more things and be able to help you help me through dueling each other."

"Perhaps," Yami said.

"It seems you were dueling Monica a while ago," Kari said, walking back near her own Duel Runner. "In that case, I think it's only fair that we resume the duel from where we were before all of this."

"If that's what you wish," Yami said, reactivating the Duel Disk. With it, his Dark Magician, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight reappeared on his field.

Yami: 7200  
Kari: 200

"Oh dear," Kari said, "she wasn't doing very well at all, was she? I suppose that's what happens when you face the King of Games. It seems to have been your turn though?"

"It was, but I think I'll end my turn," Yami said.

(Time Limit: 14 turns)

"So that means it's my turn then," Kari said, drawing a card. "Oh what luck! I activate the Card of Sanctity, giving us each up to six cards. I needed that for sure!"

The two duelists then drew their cards. Kari looked over her cards and said, "I think I'll play this, Fiend General's Arrival. It's a Continuous Spell which will allow me to summon out a Fiend General each time I Normal Summon a Shadow Khan monster. So for instance, if I were to summon Shadow Khan - Squid (3/1300/1200) to the field, I can Special Summon the Fiend General Acedia (4/1500/1200) as well."

With these new cards, Kari brought out a cloaked grotesque creature wielding four tentacles on its slug-like body, as well as a tall muscular creature with a great amount of black armor. Its most prominent feature was its orange face, a twisted grin upon it sharp and pointed looks.

"Shadow Khan?" Yami observed.

"I suppose I was closest in dueling to Jade," Kari shrugged. "You may not be familiar with the Fiend Generals though. They are the leaders of the Shadow Khan, and as such they give my Shadow Khan more powers. For instance, Fiend General Acedia allows my Shadow Khan - Squid to attack all of your monsters as opposed to just attacking twice. Now let's see what else I can do..."

Her eyes caught a card in her hand, which she gazed at for a long while. Then she gripped it.

"...this card..."

Yami looked at her for a moment. _I'm getting that bad feeling again,_ Yami thought.

_Me too, _Yugi said. _But why does it feel so familiar?_

"I will now activate this card!" Kari announced, and as she raised the card above her head, her green eye flashed brightly. "I'll now activate The Seal of Orichalcos!"

Yami and Yugi were both shocked as the ominous seal of doom surrounded the two duelists, trapping them within the circle. The ancient runes then swirled around as the lines of the seal's inner design formed itself. The green light flashed as the seal finished its formation, and Yami turned to see the Seal take its place on Kari's forehead.

"This power...it's so intense," she said. "Yet...with all this power...how am I controlling it? Am I controlling it?"

Yami then looked down and saw another seal flashing through Kari's clothes. Kari looked down at the glow coming out from her clothes and reached inside to retrieve the object. She pulled out a large medallion, the Orichalcos symbol upon it glowing brightly.

"I see," Kari said. "Perhaps this is some sort of medallion that helps me control the power."

"Kari, stop!" Yami called out. "Do you realize what you've done?"

Kari looked up at Yami with a confused look on her face. "What I've done?" she asked. "What would that be?"

"This Seal of Orichalcos is a dangerous card," Yami explained. "With it active, whoever loses this Duel will lose their soul!"

Kari gasped. "It does that?" She looked down and attempted to remove the card from the field card zone, but the mechanism sealed itself, preventing the Seal's removal. "I can't remove it!" she said.

_You don't need to remove the card._

Kari turned pale at the sound of a voice in her head. The voice whispered again, _That card is meant to help you. Surely you want help, don't you?_

"Who's there?!" Kari cried out. "Who are you?!"

_Me? I'm you._

All around Kari, the area turned dark, save for the illumination from the Seal of Orichalcos. Even Yami disappeared from view despite being inside the boundaries of the Seal. In his place, another figure appeared, one that looked identical to Kari. Kari looked at this figure with terror.

"How can you be me?" she asked.

_I'm the real you, the one you've searched for all this time,_ the figure answered. _Don't you remember me?_

"I...I can't," Kari murmured. "I can't remember who I'm supposed to be."

_Let me in, Kari,_ the figure cooed. _Let me in and help you._

The figure's eyes glowed with the bright green of the Orichalcos and got brighter and brighter until Kari had to shield her eyes from the light. And then-

Kari opened her eyes and found herself back on the field with Yami. "I'm back?" she asked, confused.

_Of course. But you see, that boy over there wants to tear us apart, destroy us. You don't want to let him do that, do you?_

"Destroy us? I...I don't want to be destroyed..."

_Then duel him, and defeat him! He'll lose his soul, and then you won't ever have to worry about him ever again!_

"Yes... yes, I must destroy him!" Kari said, a dark look crossing her face. "I must destroy you, Yugi Muto!"

Yami and Yugi were both shocked as Kari continued, "Now go, my Fiend General Acedia! Destroy his Jack's Knight!"

The orange-faced general charged its fist with dark energy and attacked the blue knight!

"Thanks to the power of the Seal of Orichalcos," Kari explained, "All my monsters gain 500 Atk points!"

Kari's monsters soon had smaller versions of the Seal imprinted on their foreheads, and their eyes glowed even redder than before as the Seal powered them up.

Shadow Khan - Squid (4/**1300**/1200 - 4/**1800**/1200)  
Fiend General Acedia (4/**1500**/1200 - 4/**2000**/1200)

After her declaration, the general punched Jack's Knight and destroyed him easily!

Yami: 7100  
Kari: 200

"And now, Shadow Khan - Squid! Eliminate the King's Knight!"

The tentacled shrouded creature lashed out against the yellow knight, thrashing and destroying it with ease!

Yami: 6900  
Kari: 200

"I'm not done yet," Kari said, "because my Shadow Khan - Squid can attack twice each turn, and he can even attack your Life Points directly! So now, Shadow Khan - Squid, attack him directly!"

The creature then lashed out its tentacles, stretching them out to bypass the Dark Magician and struck Yami's body!

Yami: 5100  
Kari: 200

"And now I will Set this card face-down and end my turn," Kari said.

(Time Limit: 13 turns)

Yami looked at Kari in disbelief. "Kari, look at yourself," he said. "This isn't you! This can't be you!"

For a moment, the dark look on Kari's face disappeared as she came to her senses. "That wasn't...me?" she asked.

_He lies!_ the voice echoed in her head. _He seeks only to destroy us, to separate us!_

Suddenly Kari screamed as the darkness took hold of her again. Yami continued to shout, "I don't know what it is that's attacking you, but you have to fight it, Kari! You can't let it win! And I will help you fight this inner enemy and get us both out of this Seal!"

With that said, Yami drew his next card. "Now I summon the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (4/1400/1200) to my field in Attack mode!"

An elvish swordsman dressed in green appeared on his field, drawing out its blade readily.

"Now go, Dark Magician! Attack her Fiend General with your Dark Magic Attack!"

The magician raised its staff and prepared to unleash its powerful attack! At that moment, Kari looked back up with a grimace on her face.

"You think I'll let you get away with that?!" she called out. "I'm just getting started with you! I activate my Shadowboxing Trap card!"

Suddenly, the Dark Magician turned to face the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian and fired off its Dark Magic Attack at the swordsman!

"My Shadowboxing Trap card can force one of your monsters to battle with another one of your monsters, thus saving mine from their wrath," Kari explained. "Fortunately, you'll take no Battle Damage during this battle, but at least your Guardian will be out of my way!"

The attack connected and exploded, leaving nothing but smoke to billow about. When it finally cleared, though, the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian stood where it was, unharmed.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Yami said, "but my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian can't be destroyed in battle with a monster with more than 1900 Atk points!"

Kari glowered at this minor setback. "It won't matter," she said, "because soon I'll be rid of you forever!"

"Not if I activate my Magical Dimension magic card!" Yami declared. "With this card and my Dark Magician, I can sacrifice my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian to bring out another Spellcaster from my hand! And I choose my Dark Magician Girl (6/2000/1700)!"

With that, a strange mystical coffin appeared, consuming the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian inside it before sealing itself. A moment later, the coffin reopened and revealed a lovely younger feminine version of the Dark Magician, clothed in blue and pink and wielding a small staff resembling her master's staff.

"It doesn't matter how many magicians you summon," Kari said, "I'll still defeat you!"

"I didn't say that was the end of my Spell's effect," Yami continued. "After I'm done summoning my Dark Magician Girl, my Magical Dimension is also able to destroy a monster on your side of the field. And the monster I choose is your Shadow Khan - Squid!"

With that said, the Dark Magician Girl fired off a blast of energy at the shadowy squid creature, destroying it in a powerful explosion!

"And now I'll Set three cards on the field and end my turn," Yami concluded, finishing his move.

(Time Limit: 12 turns)

Kari looked back up at Yugi, the dark look in her eyes pervading. "Don't think you've gained the upper hand just because you destroyed my monster," she said as she drew her card. "I have only just begun to bring out the power of my deck!"

Looking over her hand, Kari said, "I switch the Fiend General Acedia to Defense mode and move him into my back row with the Seal of Orichalcos' power!"

Fiend General Acedia (4/**2000**/1200 - 4/2000/**1200**)

"And then I'll summon forth Shadow Khan - Crab (4/1900/1100) from my hand, triggering my Fiend General's Arrival and bringing forth Fiend General Tristitia (4/1700/900) to my field as well!" she continued, bringing forth the familiar shadowy claw-armed creature and another armored archfiend with a blackened face and glowing red eyes. The two monsters then had smaller Seals placed on their heads and gained more power!

Shadow Khan - Crab (4/**1900**/1100 - 4/**2400**/1100)  
Fiend General Tristitia (4/**1700**/900 - 4/**2200**/900)

_With that kind of strength, our monsters won't stand a chance!_ Yugi thought.

"Now for my next move, Fiend General Tristitia, attack the Dark Magician Girl! Wipe her out!"

The black-faced general charged at the Dark Magician Girl, his fist charged with dark energies as he prepared to land a punishing blow to-

"Sorry Kari, but you've activated my Trap card!" Yami declared. "Go, Magician's Selection!"

"What?!"

As his Trap card absorbed the dark energy from Fiend General Tristitia, Yami explained, "With this card, when you declare an attack while I control a Spellcaster on my field, I can negate your attack and destroy the monster on your field with the lowest Atk, namely your Fiend General Acedia!"

The Trap then unleashed the energy it had absorbed and fired off past the two monsters out front and landed a blow on Fiend General Acedia, his orange face twisted into a tragic smile as he was destroyed! Kari grimaced as her monster was destroyed, but then suddenly her expression changed back to her normal one.

"What...what's going on?" Kari asked. Yami recognized her confusion and took the opportunity to talk.

"Kari, I don't know what's happening to you, but I need you to tell me everything you know," Yami said. "Why do you have the Seal of Orichalcos? How are you controlling it?"

"I...I don't know," Kari answered. "Maybe...Yugi, I need you to look inside my mind! Find me there and bring me back!"

At that moment, Kari screamed and was taken over again by whatever was controlling her. The seal on her forehead glowed brighter, and then she resumed her grimacing.

"I'm not done with you yet, Yugi," she said. "You may have stopped my attack, but my Shadow Khan - Crab still has his effect. Since he hasn't attacked this turn, I can destroy one of your monsters! So now say goodbye to your Dark Magician!"

The sinister crab reached out and snagged the Dark Magician within its claw, cutting right through and destroying him!

"You may have destroyed my Dark Magician," Yami said, "but you've only made my Dark Magician Girl stronger! For each Dark Magician in the Graveyard, she gains 300 Atk points!"

Dark Magician Girl (6/**2000**/1700 - 6/**2300**/1700)

"She may be strong, but she's still not strong enough to defeat my monsters," Kari said. "Now I play one card face-down and end my turn!"

(Time Limit: 11 turns)

"Then it's my move," Yami said drawing a card. Then he called out, _Yugi, I need you to help Kari. I'm going to try and send you into her mind. Find Leila, and let her use her power to bring us into Kari's mind as well._

_What about you?_ Yugi asked.

_I'll hold off Kari here. Now go! Before it's too late!_

With that, Yami activated the power of the Millenium Puzzle.

"What are you doing?" Kari demanded to know, but just then Yami fired Yugi's soul out of the puzzle and into Kari's mind! Yugi worked his way past the Seal's magic with great difficulty but finally entered into Kari's mind, finding himself in the middle of the crystal field.

"Wow, I didn't even know he could do that," Yugi said, dusting himself off.

"Good to see you've returned."

Yugi turned around and found himself face-to-face with Leila.

"I knew you would return," she said.

"I imagine so," Yugi said. "Have you kept up with the duel going on?"

"For a while at least," Leila answered. "Then something came and blocked off the connection we normally would have."

"The Seal of Orichalcos..."

"She's played that card? Then it's worse than I feared..."

"Yeah, the...other me's in a tight situation right now. He has the advantage, but Kari's turning the tide."

"With the Seal of Orichalcos though...it means that her evil impulses have come back. Your other half is in more danger than before."

"Then we've gotta do everything we can to help him out!"

"Right. And the first thing would be to transport them here."

Leila closed her eyes and concentrated her power. Meanwhile in the midst of the battlefield, the surrounding cavern of the mountain slowly dissolved and transformed into the crystal maze that represented Kari's mind.

"What the...where are you taking us?!" Kari demanded.

"We're going inside your mind!" Yami answered just as the field finished transforming. Now the two duelists were surrounded entirely by a crystal maze.

"How? How could you do this?" Kari asked, looking around her. "This place...this place..."

Suddenly, Kari broke out of her state of evil and became herself once again. She looked around at the maze of her mind, something that had long plagued her with its twists and turns.

"This place..." was all she could say.

Yugi returned to Yami's side, now that his task was complete. _Alright, Pharaoh, we're in her mind,_ he said. _Now what?_

_Now we can work together to help Kari remember who she is,_ Yami replied. _I'll continue the duel from here, you help guide her to where she needs to go._

_But how will I know where she needs to go? The only mental maze we've dealt with is yours, and we haven't been able to solve that!_

_Trust your heart, and remember, you have the courage to brave through this maze and find Kari's true self. You must have faith in yourself like I have faith in you._

_Alright then. I'll do it!_

And with that, Yugi disappeared again back into Kari's mind.

"Now then, I believe it's my turn," Yami continued, "and I'll start by playing the Monster Reborn spell card, reviving my Dark Magician!"

With the power of his Spell card, the ace of Yami's deck once again appeared on the battlefield, ready for action.

"And now I'll combine my magician with my Buster Blader using the power of my Polymerization spell!" Yami continued. "Together, they will become one, bringing forth my Dark Paladin (8/2900/2400)!"

The iconic Dark Magician then fused with the dragon-slaying warrior from Yami's hand and combined themselves into a bold new monster. Its armor was similar to the Dark Magician's but black with gold trimming around. Its blue face accented its long gray hair, and it wielded its mighty staff now adorned with the blade of its warrior counterpart. It stood ready and waiting as it looked down upon Kari's monsters, now looking up at it with awe and fear.

"Now my Dark Paladin's ability takes effect," Yami said. "For each Dragon that is on the field or either player's Graveyard, my Dark Paladin will gain 500 Atk points!"

Kari looked on curiously before being overtaken by the evil again. The darker side appeared and chuckled.

"You forget," she cackled, "there aren't any Dragons that have been played. You'll have to do better than that if you think you can defeat me!"

"I'm not the one forgetting what's been played," Yami said smiling. "Remember, the cards from our Turbo Duel have been in play as well, and that means I can utilize any of the cards played then right now!"

"But then that means-!"

"That's right. You may not have played any Dragons, but Monica managed to bring in a whole family of Dragons!" Yami finished, revealing the aura surrounding the Dark Paladin to show Speedy Dragon, Turbo Dragon, and Nitros Dragon giving him power.

Dark Paladin (8/**2900**/2400 - 8/**4400**/2400)

"And because my Dark Magician is still in my Graveyard, my Dark Magician Girl maintains her power," Yami added. "Now to end this duel! Go, Dark Paladin! Attack her Fiend General Tristitia!"

The warrior-magician charged up its dark magic into the blade-staff and slashed at the Fiend General, destroying it and causing a powerful explosion! Yami shielded himself from the blast before looking back, only to hear Kari laughing as the score revealed her unchanged Life Points.

Yami: 5100  
Kari: 200

"But how? My attack should have reduced your Life Points to 0! Unless..."

"Unless my Trap card negates all the Battle Damage and keeps me safe," Kari finished as a yellow bubble surrounding her began to dissipate. "And since my Trap card is Spirit Barrier, I'm able to negate all the Battle Damage so long as I have a monster in play. I think you know what that means."

_As long as her Shadow Khan are in play, I can't attack them or deal any damage to her Life Points,_ Yami thought. _The only way to beat her now is to either destroy her Spirit Barrier or destroy her Shadow Khan. But with no cards in my hand, that's going to be tricky..._

"What's wrong? Didn't you expect that I would find a way to stick around?" Kari taunted. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"I'll switch my Dark Magician Girl to Defense mode and end my turn," Yami said, with the apprentice magician shielding herself from oncoming attacks.

(Time Limit: 10 turns)

"Good, now it's my turn again," Kari said, drawing her next card. "I hope you're ready for what I've got in store for you. I sacrifice my Shadow Khan-Crab in order to summon Shadow Khan - Sumo (5/2200/300) to the field!"

The crab-like shadow creature was then replaced with a far larger shadow creature, towering at a colossal height over Yami's monsters.

"And as you should be familiar with by now," Kari continued, "whenever a Shadow Khan creature is played, Fiend General's Arrival allows me to summon out a Fiend General, so now I summon Fiend General Gula (3/1400/1300) in Attack mode!"

At that moment, a large green-faced fiend in blackened armor appeared, growling angrily.

"And thanks to the power of the Seal of Orichalcos, my monsters get even stronger!"

Shadow Khan - Sumo (5/**2200**/300 - 5/**2700**/300)  
Fiend General Gula (3/**1400**/1300 - 3/**1900**/1300)

"Now then, it's time to attack!" Kari called out. "Go, Shadow Khan-Sumo! Destroy his Dark Paladin!"

The shadow sumo lunged forward at the Dark Paladin, ready to pound it into the ground!

"Trap card activate! Go, Dark Magic Retribution!"

"What?!"

Suddenly, the Dark Magician reappeared on the field and intercepted the Shadow Khan's attack, defending the Dark Paladin from harm!

"But your Dark Magician is supposed to be in your Graveyard!" Kari said. "How did you..."

"With the power of my Dark Magic Retribution card," Yami explained, "I'm able to summon a Spellcaster from my Graveyard when your monster declares an attack, making it the new target and protecting my Dark Paladin from its blow."

Kari grimaced. "You may have delayed your monster's destruction," she said, "but you have yet to defeat me! Now I end my turn!"

(Time Limit: 9 turns)

_She's starting to slip up,_ Yami thought. _If she had used her Shadow Khan-Crab's effect before sacrificing it, my Dark Paladin wouldn't be here to protect me. It may be..._

* * *

Meanwhile deep in Kari's mind maze, Yugi wandered around looking for Kari.

"Hey! I know you're here!" he called out. "I'm here to help!"

"You won't find her like that."

Yugi turned to see Leila standing there.

"Isn't there a way to find her?" Yugi asked.

"There is," Leila said. "All you need do is think of where you would be."

"Where I would be..." Yugi mused over this remark for a moment. _If I was Kari, where would I be..._

Yugi closed his eyes and thought for a moment before opening them again. Now he was in another part of the maze, a small corner covered in darkness. And sure enough, there was Kari.

"Kari!" he said, running over to her. The girl jumped and skittered away.

"Get away!" she cried out, forcing Yugi to stop. She was terrified, lost and afraid. But she was Kari, there was no doubt.

"It's okay, I'm here to help," Yugi said. Kari looked up at him as he extended a helping hand towards her.

"You came...to help me?" she asked. Yugi nodded as a response. Kari looked at him and then down to his hand.

"It's alright," Yugi said. Kari then took his hand, and he helped stand her up.

"You've been stuck in here for a while, haven't you?" he asked.

"It's been so long," Kari answered. "I've tried getting out so many times before, but it's hopeless. My memories are no closer now than when I started."

"Then we'll just have to work our way through this maze and find them again," Yugi said.

"Your determination is admirable, but it's not that simple," Kari said. "This maze changes constantly, rerouting the way to the end each time. There's no neutral point in this maze except for the start."

"Then we just go back to the start," Yugi said, closing his eyes. Kari watched him for a moment before closing her eyes too. And just like that, the two had arrived at the beginning of the maze: the center.

There were paths on all sides extending outwards from the center, and from here the shifting walls could be seen more clearly. The crystals glowed around the two as they looked around themselves. The maze seemed much larger in the center than it did in any other part, but Yugi knew this was only a small part of the maze. He then grabbed Kari's hand and led her down a path out of the center, a start on their journey.

* * *

"Hey, what's going on?"

"We came to see a duel, not watch a flatscreen!"

"Will you get serious? They could be trapped in that tunnel."

"Somebody help them!"

The crowd had been in a state of panic for some time. After the cave-in, no one was sure of what to do. Matt had personally come over the speaker several times in order to maintain order in the crowd, but there was no response.

Matt himself was busy looking into Kari's past again. Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon were all also researching on Kari's past, everyone trying to figure out who she was and why she would target Yugi. Creighton leaned back in his chair.

"Man, this is ridiculous," he said. "You'd think it wouldn't be so hard to find out something about someone, but with so many names and identities, it's hard to tell what we'd even look for!"

"We're working on her motive for targeting Yugi," Izzy answered. "Something in her past must link her to this motivation, and so we have to find out what that is."

"Yeah? Which one do you suggest?" Creighton retorted. "We already know she's got at least ten other identities she's been using!"

"Relax, you two," Matt interjected. "We have an important goal right now, so let's just stick to that."

Creighton moaned as he turned back to his computer. "All I've been getting is a bunch of news sources reporting on the mysterious circumstances under which people were defeated," he said. "People remarked on it as eerie, as though their souls had been sucked out of their bodies. Not alive, but not quite dead."

"I've been pulling up similar sources," Izzy said. "It seems that Kari's abilities as an assassin were to render her victims unable to live. That would be a dangerous thing, except that her victims all recovered on the same day at the exact same time."

"That's kinda freaky," Creighton commented.

"I've found some sources on her identities," Shannon said quietly, "but I don't think they're of much help."

"Keep looking," Matt ordered. "There must be something that explains what all of this is about and what her motive is to target Yugi."

Meanwhile, out on the dueling track, Andrew had led a team of rescue workers to the cave-in site to dig up some of the rocks blocking the entrance. Joey and Tristan were there as well, digging up the rocks while Tea stood by at a safe distance.

"Ready, and, heave!"

The two shoved over another boulder, only to reveal another pile beneath it.

"Man, one rock down, and den a hundred more to go!" Joey said. "We'll never get to em at dis rate."

Tristan turned to Andrew and asked, "Don't you guys have a crane or something for this kind of thing?"

"Hey, when your engines are trying to transport several hundred tons of dirt around in the air along with a bunch of people, you don't exactly have the weight leniency to add a giant crane on-board," Andrew retorted.

"Well excuse me for thinking there was an easy way about it!" Tristan snorted before turning back to work.

_Hang in dere, Yug, _Joey thought. _We're coming for ya!_

* * *

On the field of combat, Yami drew his next card. "It's my turn now," he said, "and I activate the Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw until we have 6 cards in our hands!"

"You're only delaying the inevitable," Kari said, drawing five new cards from her deck.

"We'll see," Yami said, looking at his new hand. "Now I'll switch my Dark Magician Girl to Attack mode and equip her with the Magic Formula spell, raising her attack by 700 points!"

Dark Magician Girl (6/**2300**/1700 - 6/**3000**/1700)

"And I will also summon my Electromagnetic Turtle (4/0/1800) in Defense mode!" Yami continued, bringing out a metallic armored turtle to his field. "Now let's see if we can't take out that Fiend General! Go, Dark Magician Girl! Dark Burning attack!"

With the declaration, the Dark Magician Girl charged a pink orb of dark energy and fired it off at Fiend General Gula, annihilating him in an explosive force of dark magic.

"It doesn't matter what you do to my monsters," Kari sneered. "So long as my Spirit Barrier remains in play, I'll walk away unharmed every time."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Yami said, setting a card face-down. "This duel's far from over."

(Time Limit: 8 turns)

"Keep telling yourself that," Kari said, drawing her next card. "I activate the Shadow Khan Assembly spell, which allows me to summon all the Shadow Khan I have in my hand! And look at that, I've got three. So come out Shadow Khan - Samurai (4/1600/1400), Shadow Khan - Mantis (4/1400/1300), and Shadow Khan - Mini (1/100/200)!"

With the aid of her magic card, the familiar shadow-armored ninja appeared alongside an insectoid shadow creature and a tiny four-legged shadow creature. Each was instantly infused with the power of the Seal of Orichalcos, increasing their strength even further.

Shadow Khan - Samurai (4/**1600**/1400 - 4/**2100**/1400)  
Shadow Khan - Mantis (4/**1400**/1300 - 4/**1900**/1300)  
Shadow Khan - Mini (1/**100**/200 - 1/**600**/200)

"And I'll also summon my Fiend General Ira (4/1800/600) in the back row to keep you on your toes!" Kari continued, bringing out a blue-faced demon general which flexed its muscles and cackled as it got stronger with the Seal of Orichalcos.

Fiend General Ira (4/**1800**/600 - 4/**2300**/600)

"Fortunately for you, I'm unable to attack in the turn I use Shadow Khan Assembly," Kari continued, "so I will Set 1 last card and end my turn here."

(Time Limit: 7 turns)

"Then it's my turn," Yami said drawing his next card. _I'm going to have to end this duel soon unless that Time Limit goes off. I hope Yugi's doing well inside her mind._

* * *

Yugi wandered down the path with Kari at his side, the maze expanding out ever further. At a particular turn, the two came face-to-face with not another passage as they had for a long time but an image Yugi was surprised to find he was familiar with. There in front of the two was a lone girl, sitting by herself surrounded by small wooden toys that took various forms. There was a toy soldier, a train set, a horse, a car, and beyond that were more objects. Shelves lined with books, pens, drawings of cartoons, assorted coins - a gallery of objects all compiled into a single space. And there was that one girl, crying to herself, holding something against her chest.

Yugi looked down at Kari, who had her head held low. "Do you know what this is?" he asked her.

Kari nodded. "I've been here before," she said. "It's me when I was younger, as a kid. After my house burned down..."

Yugi was stunned, but Kari continued, "It happened so long ago, but I can still see it as though it had only happened yesterday. And I can see all of my siblings and my parents standing in the living room just as easily too."

Suddenly, the image in front of them changed into an extravagant living room. There was lavish furnishings surrounding a marble fireplace with a variety of expensive objects that most people would not have seen outside of a museum. And there was an elderly gentleman, a wonderful mustache gleaming his face as the light reflected off his monocle. And there was his wife, an elegant lady dressed as though she were to attend a ballroom dance hosted by a king rather than for mere comfort and relaxation.

All across the floor were children of various sizes, each one reminding Yugi of one of the identities he'd seen in the tournament. There was the girl in rather dirty clothes with a posh girl laughing at her and making fun of her clothes. Between them was a boy dressed and ready to fight, as though he was to defend the poor girl's honor, and another boy dressed as though he were going to be participating in a baseball game was coming over. Over by a bookshelf there was one girl wearing glasses reading a children's storybook to a small boy, who was bouncing up and down as though he were ready for anything, and another girl who was performing to herself. There was one girl meditating around a crystal ball while a young boy looked curiously at the ball, measuring it and tinkering with it much to the young girl's chagrin. And then there was Kari, playing with a young boy with little toy cars, zooming around on an imaginary highway.

Yugi looked at across the scene with much amazement. "This was your home?" he asked.

Kari nodded sadly. "It was..."

Then suddenly a flash of fire sparked in the middle of the room, and like a photograph it burned out onto the sad scene with the young Kari kneeling at a bookshelf, surrounded by toys. The young Kari was crying and held something close to herself. Kari closed her eyes at this scene and looked away.

* * *

"I summon Big Shield Gardna (4/100/2600) to the field in Defense mode!" Yami declared, bringing out a long-haired warrior with a very large shield to defend itself. "And that will end my turn."

(Time Limit: 6 turns)

"You continue to play out as if you stand a chance," Kari sneered, drawing her next card. "And yet you have no idea of the power my deck has yet to offer! I activate the Dark Spirit Art - Greed, which allows me to sacrifice my Fiend General Ira in order to draw 2 cards from my deck!"

Yami was stunned for a moment and watched as the blue-faced fiend was quickly sacrificed to give Kari two more cards.

"You would sacrifice your own monster for your own personal gain?" he asked.

"Victory always comes with a sacrifice," Kari said. "Now I summon Shadow Khan - Ninja (4/1500/1200) to my field, and with the power of Fiend General's Arrival, I summon Fiend General Vanagloria (4/1600/1000) to my field as well!"

The shadowy ninja appeared once again, now accompanied by a maroon-faced demon with long dark green hair and two yellow horns. Each gained the power of the Seal of Orichalcos and powered up even further!

Shadow Khan - Ninja (4/**1500**/1200 - 4/**2000**/1200)  
Fiend General Vanagloria (4/**1600**/1000 - 4/**2100**/1000)

"But don't worry about my Fiend General," Kari said, "because he won't be around for long. I activate the spell card By Order of Superbia! With it, I can send a Fiend General I control to the Graveyard to bring out a Shadow Khan creature from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard to the field. And I have just the one in mind! Come forth, Shadow Khan - Razor (4/1600/1300)!"

The demon general disappeared with the power of the spell card, and in its place arose a long-limbed shadow creature with large claw-like fingers. The power of the Seal increased its strength even further!

Shadow Khan - Razor (4/**1600**/1300 - 4/**2100**/1300)

"And now I'll attack your Dark Magician Girl with my Shadow Khan - Sumo! Go, Shadow Smash!"

The largest of the Shadow Khans charged at and rammed the Dark Magician Girl, destroying her easily with its ability.

"When you destroyed my Dark Magician Girl," Yami said, "you activated my Magic Formula's effect, allowing me to gain 1000 Life Points!"

Yami: 6100  
Kari: 200

"Not that it will do much good," Kari said. "I'm not done with you yet! Go, Shadow Khan - Razor! Slash through his Electromagnetic Turtle!"

The bladed shadow creature dashed with great speed and sliced through the turtle, destroying it in an instant!

"And thanks to Razor's abilities, you take damage equal to the difference in strength with our monsters," Kari explained, "and when you take damage from a battle with Razor, I draw 1 card from my deck."

Yami: 5800  
Kari: 200

Kari drew her new card and then declared, "And now it's time to attack! Go, Shadow Khan - Mini! Attack his Life Points directly!"

The small creature skittered across the battlefield and leapt into the air, lunging forth at Yami with a hungry bite!

"I activate the effect of my Electromagnetic Turtle!" Yami said. "When it gets destroyed and sent to the Graveyard during your turn, I can choose to end the Battle Phase at any point!"

Suddenly a large turtle shell marked with N and S appeared in front of Yami, deflecting the attack of the small shadow creature and sending it back to Kari's field. Kari glowered at this defense.

"You continue to delay the inevitable," she said. "I end my turn."

(Time Limit: 5 turns)

"It's my turn now," Yami announced, drawing his next card. "I'll set one card face-down and tribute my Big Shield Gardna for the Summoned Skull (6/2500/1200) in Attack mode!"

The massive-shield-bearing warrior disappeared and was replaced with a large skeletal fiend, its wings spread out in preparation for its fight to come.

"And that ends my turn," Yami said. _I'm ready for you now._

(Time Limit: 4 turns)

"Such a short turn," Kari said, drawing her next card. "A shame that I will be rid of you so quickly. I activate Shadow Khan Army Strike to give my Shadow Khans an additional 500 Atk points!"

Shadow Khan - Sumo (5/**2700**/300 - 5/**3200**/300)  
Shadow Khan - Samurai (4/**2100**/1400 - 4/**2600**/1400)  
Shadow Khan - Mantis (4/**1900**/1300 - 4/**2400**/1300)  
Shadow Khan - Mini (1/**600**/200 - 1/**1100**/200)  
Shadow Khan - Ninja (4/**2000**/1200 - 4/**2500**/1200)  
Shadow Khan - Razor (4/**2100**/1300 - 4/**2600**/1300)

"Now it's time to be rid of you and all your monsters!" Kari said. "Go, Shadow Khan - Sumo! Finish off his Dark Paladin with Shadow Smash!"

The massive Shadow Khan lunged forward at the Dark Paladin, preparing to crush it beneath its girth! But then Yami smiled.

"Seems you're still falling for the same tricks as last time," Yami said. "I activate my face-down Trap card!"

"No!"

"Go, Mirror Force! Destroy all of her Shadow Khan!"

The Trap flipped over and created a barrier that protected the Dark Paladin as Shadow Khan - Sumo came plummeting down on top of it! The barrier bounced the large creature back, sending its shadows all across Kari's field and wiping out her entire army of Shadow Khan creatures!

* * *

Kari opened her eyes widely. "I remember," she whispered.

Yugi looked over at her confused. "Remember what?" he asked, but he received no reply as Kari walked over to the little girl and knelt down beside her. Kari reached out her hand, and the girl took notice and looked up at her.

"You came...to help me?" the girl asked. Kari nodded, and the girl slowly handed over the very thing she was carrying. Kari looked down and saw the picture frame of her family. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"This was all I had left of them," she said. "This picture was all I had. And that's when he came."

Yugi walked up to Kari and asked, "Who came?"

Kari looked up at Yugi, the tears in her eyes now slowly dripping down her face. "Dartz."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Yeesh, Dartz's legacy continues. And man was that a lot of transitions! Course, there's also a lot of cards too:

**Fiend General's Arrival** (Continuous Spell card)  
Effect: When you Normal Summon a "Shadow Khan" monster, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Fiend General" monster from your hand or Deck.

**Shadow Khan - Squid** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 1300 Atk, 1200 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly and can attack twice during each Battle Phase.

**Fiend General Acedia**(Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1200 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: "Shadow Khan - Squid" you control can attack each of your opponent's monsters once each.

**The Seal of Orichalcos** (Field Spell card)  
Effect: Your monsters gain 500 Atk. This card cannot be destroyed or negated by card effects. You can use your Spell and Trap Card Zones as Monster Card Zones. Monsters in your Spell and Trap Card Zones cannot be attacked unless your original Monster Card Zones are empty. During your Main Phase, you can move monsters from your Monster Card Zone to your Spell and Trap Card Zone and vice-versa. If a player loses the Duel, they lose their soul.  
NOTE: The only effect not listed here is in regards to the Legendary Dragons Timaeus, Critias, and Hermos, and since they don't show up at this point, it's not necessary to bring them up again in the card effect.

**Obnoxious Celtic Guardian** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1400 Atk, 1200 Def, Warrior, EARTH  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle against a monster with 1900 or more Atk.  
NOTE: In the real TCG, this card is called "Obnoxious Celtic Guard".

**Shadowboxing** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate when your opponent's monster attacks. Select 1 other monster on your opponent's field and redirect the attack to that monster. Your opponent takes no Battle Damage from this battle.

**Magical Dimension** (Quick-Play Spell card)  
Effect: If you control a face-up Spellcaster-type monster, Tribute 1 monster you control to Special Summon 1 Spellcaster-type monster from your hand. Then you can destroy 1 monster on the field.

**Dark Magician Girl** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 6, 2000 Atk, 1700 Def, Spellcaster, DARK  
Effect: This card gains 300 Atk for every "Dark Magician" and "Magician of Black Chaos" in your Graveyard.

**Shadow Khan - Crab** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1100 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). Once per turn, you can destroy one of your opponent's monsters. If you do, this card cannot attack this turn.

**Fiend General Tristitia** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1700 Atk, 900 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: Whenever a "Shadow Khan - Crab" you control attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points.

**Buster Blader** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 7, 2600 Atk, 2300 Def, Warrior, EARTH  
Effect: Increase this card's Atk by 500 for every Dragon-type monster your opponent controls or is in their Graveyard.

**Polymerization** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: By sending, from your hand or your side of the field to the Graveyard, Fusion Material Monsters listed on a Fusion Monster, Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck.

**Dark Paladin **(Fusion Monster card)  
Level 8, 2900 Atk, 2400 Def, Spellcaster, DARK  
"Dark Magician" + "Buster Blader"  
Effect: Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. During either player's turn, when a Spell card is activated while this card is face-up, you can discard 1 card to negate the activation and destroy it. This card gains 500 Atk for every Dragon-type monster on the field or is in either player's Graveyard.

**Spirit Barrier** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: You take no Battle Damage as long as you control a monster.

**Fiend General Gula** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 1400 Atk, 1300 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: "Shadow Khan - Sumo" you control gain 300 Atk each time they destroy a monster with their effect.

**Dark Magic Retribution** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, select 1 Spellcaster-Type monster in your Graveyard and Special Summon it. Destroy it during the End Phase.  
NOTE: This card again works the same way it did in its first appearance in chapter 9.

**Shadow Khan - Mantis **(Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1400 Atk, 1300 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly. When this card is destroyed, you can Special Summon 1 "Shadow Khan" monster from your hand or Deck.

**Shadow Khan - Mini** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 1, 100 Atk, 200 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly. Whenever a DARK monster is sent to the Graveyard, this card gains 500 Atk.

**Fiend General Ira** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1800 Atk, 600 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: "Shadow Khan - Samurai" you control are immune to the effects of your opponent's Spell and Trap cards.

**Big Shield Gardna** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 100 Atk, 2600 Def, Warrior, EARTH  
Effect: During either player's turn, when this face-down card is targeted by a Spell card's effect, flip it to face-up Defense Position and negate that Spell's activation. If this card is attacked, change it to Attack Position at the end of the Damage Step.

**Dark Spirit Art - Greed** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Tribute 1 DARK monster. Draw 2 cards. Your opponent can negate this effect by revealing 1 Spell card in their hand.

**Fiend General Vanagloria** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1600 Atk, 1000 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: "Shadow Khan - Ninja" you control are unaffected by your opponent's Trap cards.

**By Order of Superbia** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Send 1 "Fiend General" you control to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Shadow Khan" monster from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard.

**Mirror Force** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: When an opponent's monster declares an attack, destroy all Attack Position monsters your opponent controls.

Now that the tides have turned again, will Yami be able to win the Duel? Or does Kari have something else up her sleeve? Find out in the next chapter!


	20. Superbia Arrives

Chapter 20: Superbia Arrives

Kari grimaced for a moment and clutched her chest. "No...no, no, no no, no!" she cried out. "I haven't come this far only to lose to you!"

"It's pointless to hide yourself from me," Yami said. "The real Kari would never have relied on a power like the Seal of Orichalcos to find the truth. I may have only seen glimpses of her true self, but now I'm certain of it! You're not the real Kari Asaila but another alias of hers, aren't you?!"

Kari glowered again at Yami but then suddenly smirked. "Perhaps I am," she said. "And what of this real Kari you speak of? Is she another alias too? We can't all be the real Kari, and yet we can't all be aliases either! So what do you plan on doing now? Do you still believe that there is some essence of a real person in here? Because chances are she's long gone by now."

"Don't be so sure," Yami said. "My partner will help find the real Kari and bring her back to the surface!"

"Not as long as I'm still here! And to make sure of that, I'm going to summon the monster that will put an end to your heroic nonsense!" Kari said. "I remove from my graveyard the Fiend Generals Vanagloria, Gula, Ira, Acedia, and Tristitia in order to bring forth the strongest Fiend General! I bring forth the mighty Fiend General Superbia (8/3000/2500)!"

As the spirits of the former Fiend Generals appeared on the field, they began to form together and combine with the shadows to bring forth a large red-skinned fiend with glowing yellow-green eyes and a white mustache and goatee. It flexed its muscles and took a stance of confidence as the Seal of Orichalcos appeared on its forehead, granting it more strength!

Fiend General Superbia (8/**3000**/2500 - 8/**3500**/2500)

"Now prepare yourself to bow before my mightiest monster!" Kari declared, laughing wildly as Yami stared up into the now red eyes of the Fiend General Superbia.

* * *

"After the fire that burned down my home and took away my family, I was left alone, no one left to care for me. I ran away so no one would be able to find me. I spent days wandering the forest that was near my former home, and I was sure that I was going to die. But in the midst of it all, I found these strange pieces scattered about the forest. To keep my mind off of my own starvation, I would spend hours searching for these little tiny pieces. Eventually, I found a large disc that seemed to allow the pieces to fit inside, so I started put them together. Once I had found them all, the pieces fused together and created a medallion with a curious seal on it, and I felt an amazing power surge through me briefly.

"And that's when Dartz found me. He asked who I was, and that's when I realized I didn't know anymore. I had forgotten my name. He offered me a chance to find out who I really was in exchange for helping him out. I was so scared that I didn't know what else to do or who else to turn to, and with no one else to take care of me, I agreed and became one of his servants.

"I spent years under his tutelage, using the power of the Seal of Orichalcos to take a number of souls for his purposes. I even began to use other identities in order to lure people into a false sense of security before taking their souls. But no matter what I did for him, there were no answers for me. I was as lost as the day he found me, no closer to finding the truth about myself than I had been. Then one day I discovered what the medallion was and where it had come from.

"It was made by a small resistance that opposed Dartz's reign once he had succumbed to the Orichalcos' power. The medallion was forged with the essence of the original Orichalcos to allow them to fight against Dartz's organization. They even managed to make another Great Leviathan in order to fight off the original. But during the Battle of Atlantis, their Leviathan was slain by the Orichalcos' Leviathan, and the medallion was shattered. I managed to assemble it over 10,000 years later.

"That's when I knew the truth about Dartz. He had been using me to further his own goals in reviving the Great Leviathan. And so I confronted him on the matter and challenged him to a duel for the answers I sought. I lost that duel, but my soul was saved by the power of the Orichalcos Medallion. I fled from the temple and from Dartz and gathered a group of people that would help in my struggles against him. Together we formed an alliance against Dartz and the Orichalcos, using the power of the medallion to aid in the struggle.

"Eventually, you and the others showed up with the Legendary Dragons and ended the threat of Dartz and the Orichalcos Leviathan, allowing for the rebellion to end. Even after the war was over, I was no closer to finding an answer to who I was than I had been. I was confident but unknown, I had a purpose but no identity. Even so, I found hope that I might discover who I was.

"And so I spent the next few years in different disguises, working to find out myself while pretending to be my siblings. The only reminder I had of who I was was the family picture I had kept in secret all this time. But there felt like an ever-present darkness inside, from the time I served Dartz. I felt I couldn't forgive myself for letting him take advantage of my weakness."

Kari finished her story, and Yugi lowered his head.

"Knowing what Dartz did to get the others to side with him, I'm almost certain he was the one who burned down your home," Yugi said. "He would have planned on giving you a reason to join his side, and having faced such a tragedy on your own, he knew he would be able to convince you to join him."

"That may be," Kari said, "but now I have to face that darkness that still persists. I have to face up to that which remains. And that means I have to look back to my past again."

Yugi placed his hand on Kari's shoulder, causing her to look up at him. "Then let's do it together," he said. "I know that Yami's out there right now fighting for you, and now that you've learned so much about what happened, we can work on moving forward."

Kari smiled and nodded, and the two disappeared back into the maze, the little girl smiling at them as they left before fading away.

* * *

Yami: 5800  
Kari: 200

"I hope you're not too intimidated by my Fiend General Superbia!" Kari taunted, with her monster standing confidently with its arms crossed and a smug look on its face. "He may look powerful, but that's only because he is!"

"Your monster doesn't scare me, and it won't keep me from winning this duel," Yami retorted, his Dark Paladin brandishing its bladed magical staff.

"We'll see about that," Kari said. "I now equip Blade of the Fiend General with Fiend General Superbia, raising his Atk power by 500!"

Fiend General Superbia (8/**3500**/2500 - 8/**4000**/2500)

"And that's not all! Now I use Fiend General Superbia's own effect, which allows me to remove 1 Shadow Khan monster in my Graveyard from play to give him an additional 300 Atk," Kari continued, "and since I've got 8 Shadow Khan monsters in my Graveyard, I think I'll go ahead and remove them all from play so my Fiend General Superbia can power up to maximum strength!"

With that, Superbia opened its mouth and sucked in the spirits of the Shadow Khans - Crab, Mantis, Sumo, Mini, Ninja, Razor, Squid, and Samurai, boosting its power by an impressive amount!

Fiend General Superbia (8/**4000**/2500 - 8/**6400**/2500)

"A monster with 6400 Atk points now stands before you!" Kari said. "I hope you have a plan for what to do next, because now my Fiend General Superbia is the strongest monster on the field! And with that, I end my turn and leave you with only 3 turns to defeat me before my Time Limit goes off!"

(Time Limit: 3 turns)

_She may have the strongest monster in play, but that doesn't mean she's going to win this duel,_ Yami thought. "It's my turn!"

Looking through the cards in his hand, Yami found it difficult to find a card he could use. _Right now, I need to get rid of Superbia, _he thought to himself, _but not only that, I have to make sure she doesn't have any other monsters in play so that her Spirit Barrier can't activate, or else I have to take out the Spirit Barrier._

"Come now, surely you're not stumped after that resounding speech of yours," Kari taunted. "Make your move!"

_Wait! That's it!_

* * *

Kari and Yugi were making their way through the maze rather easily. The walls no longer moved to impede the progress but rather moved away, as though opening up the way for them.

"It's strange," Kari said. "I've never been able to make the walls move aside so easily before. I couldn't even move them before!"

"It means we're getting closer to the truth," Yugi said. "We know enough, now we just need to finish what we've started."

The two eventually arrived at an open area surrounded by crystal and mirrors. A bright moon shone down with moons of its own, and the mirror reflected the light and brightened the landscape such that the whiteness was only dulled by the night sky. And there stood a dark shadowy figure at an altar of crystal in the center.

"So you've finally found your sanctuary," a voice echoed from the altar. The figure turned around and revealed itself to Yugi and Kari as a shadowy clone of Kari.

"You!" Kari gasped.

"Yes, me," the shadow Kari said. "Me, me, me. So glad you could join me at last. And now I can assimilate you and take control over your body permanently! But first, we can't have that annoying little boy with you!"

The shadow Kari held up her palm and pushed a massive invisible force that struck Yugi, sending him hurtling out of Kari's mind! He soared back into the Millenium Puzzle and found himself back in his own soul room, filled with its innocent play things.

"I have to warn the Pharaoh!" he said, and he disappeared very quickly.

* * *

"Prepare yourself, Kari, because I'm about to bring an end to your monster and this duel!" Yami said. "First, I will activate-"

_Pharaoh!_

Yami stopped for a moment and saw Yugi float by his side.

_Yugi? What are you doing here? What happened? _Yami asked.

_Kari's in trouble! We got out of the maze together, and then there was this shadow clone of her that forced me out! _Yugi said.

_This is troubling...we have to stop her and end this duel soon! And I think I have just the cards to do it!_ Yami said.

_Alright. Hang in there, Kari! We're coming!_

"Now I activate my Necromancy spell card to bring back 4 of the monsters in your Graveyard back to your field in Defense mode!" Yami declared.

"Don't bother," Kari said. "I've already removed every monster in my graveyard from the game thanks to Superbia!"

"How quickly we forget," Yami smiled. "You keep forgetting to account for Kari's other monsters! Come out to her field!"

Kari was surprised when suddenly her graveyard opened up and summoned out Nitros Dragon, Cure Mermaid, Speedy Dragon, and Turbo Dragon!

"These monsters all belong to Kari, and they are as much apart of her as her other identities are! But not you! You are the one that she didn't create on her own, the one that planned to take everything away from her! I won't forgive you for that! So now, Kari, if you are in there, listen to the cries of your monsters and fight back!"

Yami's words echoed into the realm of Kari's mind. Her eyes opened widely as she heard the words.

"Yugi," she said quietly.

"Don't listen to him," the shadow Kari said. "You have no such power to face me on your own! You will be mine and mine alone!"

Kari's face changed from one of timid fear into one of determination. "You're wrong," she said, surprising the shadow Kari. "I'm not alone here. If you want this body so much, you'll have to get by me!"

"And me!"

Kari looked over to her side and saw Leila Kimber, dressed in her prophecy robes, standing nearby.

"And me!"

Turning to the other side, Kari saw Joe appear, as energetic and eager as ever!

"Don't forget about me."

Then Gwen Mitchell appeared, adjusting her glasses, and next to her were Lucky Lynn and Vicky Queens.

"And of course you've got to beat me too!"

Then Monica Toronto appeared with her motorcycle, alongside Jade Weng and Leanna Warner, each one ready for the fight.

And that's when a number of other individuals appeared dressed in a variety of different attires. There was an actress and an athlete, a lawyer and a police officer, a wrestler and a swimsuit model - and there they were. Kari's family, as pristine as ever, readying themselves for a fight. The shadow Kari looked around nervously at this army of identities and memories.

"N-n-no! You can't all be here! I've already taken care of you!" she said. "This is impossible! How are you all free?!"

The gentlemanly father spoke up, "You think you could keep our daughter down and take control of her mind? I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. She's made of tougher stuff than what you'd be able to produce. You never stood a chance!"

This threw the shadow Kari off her feet and down onto the ground. Scrambling around, she looked up, terrified as Kari stood over her now.

"I've been running away from my past for so long," she said. "I've worn so many different faces that I'd forgotten who I was. But the truth was right there all along. I'm all of these people, and they're all apart of me too. For the longest time, I couldn't find it in myself to look at them as though they were me, as though they were apart of me. But now I can look at them and say that they're all me, and I am all of them! And against all of us, you are nothing!"

On the field, Yami said, "Now I activate this card, Diffusion Wave-Motion!"

Yami: 4800  
Kari: 200

"The power of this magic card will bring about the end of this duel!" Yami said. "By paying 1000 Life Points, I'm able to have a Spellcaster of Level 7 or higher attack all of your monsters once each. So now my Dark Paladin can destroy every monster you have in play!"

"What?!"

"Now go, Dark Paladin! Diffusion Wave Blast!"

The mighty warrior mage charged up a powerful orb of dark magic that emitted waves of darkness that sliced through Cure Mermaid, Speedy Dragon, Turbo Dragon, and Nitros Dragon easily! Kari watched on as each one was destroyed, and every time one was destroyed, in Kari's mind the identities and memories merged with Kari. The shadow Kari could do nothing but watch as Kari assimilated every one of her selves together. Then the shadow Kari began to laugh, and Kari on the field began to laugh as well.

"You may have defeated a bunch of monsters you brought back from my Graveyard," Kari said, "but you have done nothing against my Fiend General Superbia! It's useless to attack him, he's far too powerful for you to defeat! You might as well surrender right now!"

"There's a side effect to my Necromancy spell that you should be aware of," Yami said. "Each time a monster that was revived by its effect is destroyed, all the other monsters on your field lose 600 Atk points."

Kari recoiled back in shock. "But that means-!"

"That means since I destroyed all 4 of the monsters I revived from your Graveyard that Fiend General Superbia loses 2400 Atk points!" Yami declared, pointing right at the general as the spirits of Cure Mermaid, Speedy Dragon, Turbo Dragon, and Nitros Dragon grappled its limbs and held it off!

Fiend General Superbia (8/**6400**/2500 - 8/**4000**/2500)

"No, you haven't beaten him yet!" Kari yelled out.

"I'm afraid I have," Yami said. "Go, Dark Paladin! Finish off the Fiend General Superbia!"

And with that, the warrior-mage sent another wave of dark magic charging forth at the Fiend General!

"You won't destroy him so easily!" Kari said. "With the power of the Blade of the Fiend General, I can protect the Fiend General Superbia from being destroyed this turn!"

"I'm afraid you won't get the chance," Yami said. "Go, Dust Tornado!"

A blustering wind suddenly appeared and blew away the sword that Superbia wielded, sending it far away from the general's grasp!

"No! You can't!" Kari shouted.

"I just did," Yami said, and the dark energy wave ripped right through the Fiend General Superbia, destroying it once and for all.

The shadow Kari felt a stab of pain in her chest. "No," she said, "it can't be!"

"It is," Kari said. "Now it's time for you to surrender yourself!"

"No! I will not stand for this!" the shadow Kari yelled out. "I will not be destroyed!"

A surge of dark power emerged from the shadow Kari, and she fled the crystal fields and onto the battlefield with Yami, taking full control over Kari!

"I'm not done yet! I have only to stall you out for a mere turn!" she said, drawing her next card. "And now I summon Shadow Khan - Bat (3/900/600) as well as the Fiend General Avaritia (3/1300/1300) and give them the power of the Seal of Orichalcos! Now carry my anger and rage, my shadow minions, and strike Yugi directly!"

The shadowy bat creature appeared alongside a yellow-faced demon, each gaining power through the Seal of Orichalcos. The bat creature became empowered by the Seal as it took flight in the air!

Shadow Khan - Bat (3/**900**/600 - 3/**1400**/600)  
Fiend General Avaritia (3/**1300**/1300 - 3/**1800**/1300)

The bat then dove straight past Yami's monsters and lunged directly for him.

"You should be careful what you do with your monsters, imposter," Yami said. "For you see, I had a Trap already set and prepared."

"You lie! You didn't Set any cards during your turn!" Kari yelled out, but then she saw the face-down on Yami's field. "But...you didn't Set a card!"

"I actually Set this card with the power of Dust Tornado," Yami explained. "You see, after Dust Tornado took out your general's blade, I was given the option to Set one card from my hand. And the card I chose to Set was none other than..."

The card flipped up and revealed itself as two cylindrical objects that redirected an arrow!

"Magic Cylinder!"

And with that, the same cylinders appeared, one which intercepted the Shadow Khan - Bat's dive!

"But I can't take any damage while there's a monster on my field!" Kari cried out.

"Wrong! Your barrier only protects you from taking Battle Damage, and the powers of the Magic Cylinder allow me to inflict the damage directly to you as Effect Damage!" Yami countered. "You lose!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The bat appeared out of the other cylinder and collided with Kari, the powers of the shadows ripping apart the rest of her Life Points.

Yami: 4800  
Kari: 0

Kari knelt down and faced the ground, the Seal now beginning to encircle her.

"This is my fate," she said. "This is my punishment. This is my sorrow..."

"Not for you!"

Kari looked up and suddenly felt a hand against her forehead. Yami was using the power of the Millenium Puzzle on her!

"My Puzzle has the ability to put the souls of people back into their proper place," he said. "Now, let the dark soul reveal itself! Set Kari free!"

Kari was then flooded with a powerful light and ousted from the Seal of Orichalcos with Yami! But there remained the shadow Kari inside of the Seal!

"Wait! You can't get rid of me! This isn't how it was supposed to be!" the shadow Kari cried as the Seal took her soul and sealed it inside the Orichalcos Medallion. The shadow Kari disappeared with the Seal, and the Orichalcos Medallion cracked and shattered into a thousand pieces and faded out into dust! The Seal of Orichalcos also disappeared and faded away into nothingness.

Yami held Kari in his arms and supported her as she awoke. She looked up at him and asked, "Am I free?"

"Yes," he replied, "you are free."

At that moment, the rocks from the cave-in were pushed aside, and light from the outside poured into the tunnel. "Hey! Are you two alright in there?" a voice called out.

Yami then swapped places with Yugi, who responded, "We're okay!"

* * *

"Wow, now that's something."

Yugi stood next to his friends in front of Andrew, Matt, and the Admins that had been supervising the final match-ups. After Yugi and Kari were rescued from the tunnel, Matt had Kari taken into the medical bay to patch her up and make sure she was okay. Meanwhile, Andrew was dying of curiosity to see how the duel had gone, and so Yugi had to explain the entire situation regarding Kari, the Seal of Orichalcos, the mental maze, the identities, and the eventual defeat of the shadow Kari. It was a little hard to believe.

"It's a little hard to believe that all of that happened," Andrew said. "I mean, I've never heard of the Seal of Orichalcos or of shadow people or mind mazes or any of that crazy stuff."

"Eh, for Yug, dis stuff happens all da time," Joey said, wiping his nose with his thumb.

"It happens more often than it should is more like it," Tristan commented.

"True dat," Joey agreed. "But hey, da important part is Yugi won!"

"I think the most important part is the safety of both duelists," Matt interjected. "After all, both Yugi and Kari were trapped in that tunnel for a long period of time. Now that both duelists have been cared for to some extent, then I suppose that yes, the next important part would be that Yugi has won the duel with Kari. Of course, even if Kari had won the duel, she is in no condition to duel in the finals, and so she would have to be disqualified, and the runner-up would then duel in the finals."

"So Yugi would be dueling in the finals no matter what," Tea concluded.

"Precisely," one of the Admins who was wearing glasses said. "There is no contest in that Yugi is to now participate in the finals match of the tournament."

"But hey, I could understand if you need a breather after all of that," Andrew said cheerfully.

"Yug could probably take you on with both hands tied behind his back!" Joey retorted, holding up a fist of confidence.

"Is that so?" Andrew challenged, and the two began to engage in a staring contest, a tense bolt of lightning connecting the two's glare.

"Shouldn't I be the one challenging people to a duel?" Yugi asked, a sweat drop coming down from his head as everyone laughed cheerfully.

_I imagine Kari will be alright in the meantime._

Yugi looked up at Yami, who had just appeared as though he had heard the cheer and decided to join in.

_She should be fine, she just needs to rest,_ Yugi said. _After all, she's been through a lot._

_Agreed,_ Yami nodded. _So now we only have Andrew to face off against._

_Yeah, and his Ancient Heroes..._

Yugi and Yami turned to look at Andrew, smiling in the group. Andrew looked up at Yugi and smiled softly.

_This may be one of our toughest battles yet,_ Yami said.

_I don't know if it'll be as tough as that last one,_ Yugi said, _but I agree, it's going to be tough. We don't even know how to beat his indestructible strategy._

_We don't know now,_ Yami said. _Not yet._

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

What an ending! Yugi and Yami managed to pull through and save Kari from her evil side! And we got to see some cool cards as well:

**Fiend General Superbia** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 3000 Atk, 2500 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by banishing 5 "Fiend General" monsters from your Graveyard. By banishing 1 "Shadow Khan" monster from your Graveyard, this card gains 300 Atk.

**Blade of the Fiend General** (Equip Spell card)  
Effect: Equip this card to a "Fiend General" monster; it gains 500 Atk. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, destroy this card instead.

**Necromancy** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Special Summon up to 4 random monsters from your opponent's Graveyard in face-up Defense Position. If a monster Special Summoned by this effect is destroyed, all face-up monsters your opponent controls lose 600 Atk for each of those monsters until the End Phase.

**Diffusion Wave-Motion** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points to target 1 face-up Level 7 or higher Spellcaster-type monster you control; that monster can attack all of your opponent's monsters this turn. Only that monster can attack, and the effects of Effect Monsters it attacks cannot be activated and are negated.

**Dust Tornado** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Destroy 1 Spell or Trap card on the field. Then you can Set 1 Spell or Trap card from your hand.

**Fiend General Avaritia **(Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 1300 Atk, 1300 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: "Shadow Khan - Bat" you control are unaffected by your opponent's Spell cards.

**Magic Cylinder** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate when your opponent's monster attacks. Negate that attack and inflict damage to your opponent equal to its Atk.

The Battle of the Titans Tournament is almost at an end. Yugi and Yami have only one challenge left ahead of them: the indestructible Ancient Heroes. Will they be able to conquer Andrew's monsters and win the God Cards back, or will the Ancient Heroes prove too much for them? Check in for the final chapters in the Battle of the Titans!


	21. The Greatest Challenge

Chapter 21: The Greatest Challenge

Yugi sat in the room, looking through his cards and tweaking his deck for the upcoming fight.

_Andrew's Ancient Heroes have the advantage when the Ancient City of the Pyramids is in play, _he thought to himself. _The Ancient City protects the Ancient Heroes from getting destroyed by card effects, and when the Ancient City would be destroyed, an Ancient Hero can be Tributed to protect it from destruction. So one way of destroying it is when there aren't many Ancient Heroes to sacrifice or when there aren't any at all. But since the Ancient Heroes are also able to survive battle..._

Yugi ruffled his hair with these thoughts. Yami appeared by his side and looked down at the cards before the two of them.

_It's not easy to come up with a strategy against a deck of indestructible monsters, _Yami mused. _This will be quite a challenge._

_I know that much, _Yugi said. _Even then, I don't know if there's much of a way to beat the monsters._

_But there is another way of beating him, _Yami said. _Remember, his monsters may be indestructible, but his Life Points are just as easily whittled down. We may have to work on pressuring his Life Points. _

Yugi thought for a moment about this and then went back to tweaking his deck.

_We'll work on pressuring his Life Points..._

Yugi walked out onto the Duel Field from the entrance. The Duel Field where he was to duel Andrew was set at the very top of the tower where he had been on the first day to confront Matt. It was reminiscent of Kaiba's own Duel Tower, but this time there were some seats on the side for any spectators. Among such spectators were Joey, Tristan, and Tea, as well as Kaiba and Moluba. Yugi walked over to them first.

"So you came to watch the duel too, huh?" Yugi asked Kaiba.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Yugi," Kaiba said. "I'm only here to watch you lose against the duelist who beat me. He may have gotten lucky against me, but if he really is as skilled as I think he is, then you might just have your hands full."

"Nobody beats Seto without answering up to it!" Mokuba chimed in. "Andrew's gonna beat you easily!"

"Hey, don't be too sure about dat!" Joey called out.

"This coming from the duelist who got beaten before he could even step up into the ring," Kaiba commented snidely.

"She caught my by surprise! I had to Turbo Duel! I didn't see you having to ride a motorcycle while playing Duel Monsters!" Joey retorted.

"That's because it would come too easily to me," Kaiba said. "It's an exercise in focus, and unlike you, Wheeler, I have that focus."

"Come say dat to my face!" Joey said, jumping up only to be held back by Tristan who commented, "Down boy..."

"Now now, let's not get all rowdy in the stands just yet. That's for when the duel starts!"

Everyone looked over and saw Andrew standing there, confident and smiling as always. Beside him was Matt and the Admins from before, all ready to watch the duel. Yugi turned and smiled.

"I guess you're ready for this duel to get underway," he said to Andrew, who nodded in response.

"I'm not about to lose right here," Andrew said. "You may be the King of Games, but today's the day I take that title for a spin!"

Yugi nodded. As nervous as he was to go up against such a tough opponent, he was also excited to be faced with such an obstacle. He was one duel away from reclaiming his Egyptian God cards, and he wasn't about to lose either.

"Alright, you two, time to shake hands!" a short Admin said. "I'm in charge of this duel today!"

Andrew and Yugi held out their hands and shook as a sign of good sportsmanship. Matt walked up to the two and said, "Best of luck to the both of you. I hope that you will both fight to the very best of your abilities."

"You can count on that," Andrew said. "I won't be holding back for an instant."

"And I won't either," Yugi said.

"That's just the kind of response I'd expect!" Andrew cheered. "Let's get this duel on the road!"

The two then headed off to their respective sides of the Duel Field and shuffled each other's decks to their own satisfaction. Then they cut the other's deck and placed them in their Duel Disks. Meanwhile, Matt and the other Admins joined the others in the spectator stands in preparation for the duel.

"Alright, you guys ready?" the short Admin called out, with two nods to indicate both players' readiness.

_I've gotta go all out against him, _Yugi thought. _I have to take the hits as they come and dish out some heavy damage on my own!_

_Yugi is going to be tough, and he probably has an idea of how to beat my Ancient Heroes,_ Andrew thought while smiling, _but he hasn't seen all the tricks my deck has to offer._

"Then draw your hand, and may the best duelist win!" the Admin called out. "Let's get set to get decked!"

The Admin with glasses sighed. "That's a terrible line," she commented, much to the shorter Admin's noticeable chagrin.

"AND, DUEL START!"

"LET'S DUEL!"

Yugi: 8000  
Andrew: 8000

"My move to start," Yugi said, drawing his first card. Looking through the cards in his hand, he picked one out and said, "Now I'm going to summon Beta the Magnet Warrior (4/1700/1600) in Attack mode!"

A yellow warrior composed mainly of magnets appeared on the field ready for combat. It beeped robotically as it appeared on the field.

"And then I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn," Yugi said, finishing off his turn.

"Well, getting off to an easy start," Andrew said, drawing his first card. "Lemme guess, those face-down cards are meant to take out my Ancient Heroes as soon as I attack, huh?"

Yugi looked back without response, not a hint of a twitch or anything. Andrew took note of this poker face and whistled.

"Not too shabby there," he said. "You oughta get into poker, I hear there's good money in that too. But then again that takes luck, which I've got more of at the moment. I summon Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2000/1700) in Attack mode!"

The terrifying blue dinosaur armed with its bladed claws appeared once again on the dueling field. It growled menacingly as it looked down upon the Magnet Warrior.

"And now it's time to say goodbye to your Magnet Warrior!" Andrew said. "Go Bladegon, slash and hack his Beta to shreds!"

The dinosaur lunged forward, its claws at the ready. It prepared to slash through its tar-

"I activate my Mirror Force trap card!" Yugi said. "Now your Bladegon is face-to-face with its own power!"

A barrier appeared to protect Beta from the power of-

"Not if I can help it!" Andrew interrupted. "I activate Ancient Heroes' Chain Bomb to negate and destroy your Mirror Force card, as well as any copies that happen to be inside of your deck, hitting you for 500 points of damage for each one!"

The chain thrusted forth into the Mirror Force trap card, attaching a bomb to it. The chain then pierced through Yugi's deck looking for other cards, only to come back with no other cards. And then the bomb on the Mirror Force card exploded!

"Take that!" Andrew cheered, but then suddenly a powerful wind blew forth and smashed into him, knocking him down!

Yugi: 8000  
Andrew: 7000

"Whoa...didn't see that coming," Andrew said, getting back up on his feet. As the dust settled, it was revealed that Yugi had activated his other face-down card: Divine Wind.

"Sorry, Andrew," Yugi said, "but I used my Divine Wind to reflect the damage I would take from your Chain Bomb back to you with double the damage!"

"Well, color me impressed," Andrew said, "but I don't think that your monster's gonna survive the ordeal. Since Mirror Force was negated, and Divine Wind only negated the damage, my monster's still on the field ready to strike your Magnet Warrior down!"

Indeed, Ancient Hero Bladegon was still in one piece, and so it lunged forth and clawed right through Beta the Magnet Warrior, ending the poor creature's life.

Yugi: 7700  
Andrew: 7000

"And now for the coup de grâce, I set one card face-down," Andrew said. "That's it for my turn."

"Now it's my move," Yugi said. "I draw!"

Yugi looked at the new card he drew and looked back to his hand. "I'll summon a monster in Defense Mode this time around," he said. "That should end my turn."

"Going with a classic, eh?" Andrew said, drawing his next card. "But be careful, that trick doesn't work every time. And I can prove that and bring out an Ancient Hero you haven't had the chance to get acquainted with yet. Yugi, meet Ancient Hero Thundorus (5/2400/1200)!"

The blue dinosaur disappeared and was replaced with a series of clouds. The clouds turned dark and shot out lightning connecting to each other as eyes of light poured out of the highest cloud. More lightning bolts connected this cloud with other clouds, and even more lightning bolts formed what looked like fingers. The signature A formed itself between the eyes of this monster, created from lightning.

"I think you can get a pretty good idea of what he does best," Andrew said. "With the power of Ancient Hero Thundorus, I can destroy a monster you control once per turn, but he won't be able to attack if I choose to do so. And knowing that there's no guarantee of besting your monster and no way of hitting your Life Points just yet, I think this is the best option. Go, Thundorus! Thunder Bolt Shockwave!"

The monster's hands were brought together as it charged an electric orb of lightning and fired it down upon Yugi's monster! It was revealed to be Big Shield Gardna (4/100/2600), a powerful defense against attacks but not so much the effect of this monster.

"Nice try, Yugi," Andrew said, "but you'll have to do better than that if you wanna stop me next turn. In fact, just to give you some incentive, I set one card face-down."

"It's my move then," Yugi said, drawing a new card. _Alright, so now he has a monster that can destroy my monsters whenever I get one on the field. That's not good. I have to get rid of it quickly! But can I do that?_

Looking into his hand, he searched for the card that could help him. _No, not yet. Looks like I don't have a choice for now._

"I Set a monster face-down and end my turn," Yugi said.

"Nothing? This is gonna be a quick duel if you can't stop my attacks," Andrew said, drawing his next card. "I summon Ancient Hero Typhoonador (3/1200/400) to the field now!"

A new monster appeared now, a genie whose lower body was surrounded by a tornado. Its long hair swirled about wildly around it as its eyes glowed menacingly. The signature A was tattooed on its chest in a deep purple to show up off its sky blue skin.

"Now let's see what your monster is, shall we?" Andrew said. "Thundorus, go! Thunder Bolt Shockwave!"

Thundorus then charged up another electric sphere and fired it off at the monster, destroying it and revealing it as Electromagnetic Turtle (4/0/1800)!

"Aww, shoot! I know what that means," Andrew said. "You can stop my attack right away if I go for it now. Oh well, might as well get that part of the way! Typhoonador, strike at Yugi's Life Points directly!"

The genie then began to swhirl around the air until it spun it fast enough to create a small orb of gusting air! It then fired off the orb at Yugi, unleashing a powerful twister!

"Just like you said, since my Electromagnetic Turtle was destroyed during your turn," Yugi said, "I can end the Battle Phase in an instant!"

The turtle shell appeared and shielded Yugi from the twister, deflecting the attack beyond him.

"Clever defenses will only help you for so long against my assault," Andrew said. "Guess it's your turn now."

Meanwhile in the stands, the others watched the duel with great interest.

"Man, dis is a tough match," Joey said.

"I know what ya mean," Tristan added. "With that Thundorus on the field, Yugi can't even set up a good monster without it getting blown apart."

"And who knows what dat Typhoonador can do!" Joey said.

Tea stood up then and cheered out, "You can do it, Yugi! I believe in you!"

Yugi looked over to the stands and smiled as Joey and Tristan joined in.

"Yeah, you've been in tighter spots dan dis!" Joey cheered.

"You da man, Yug!" Tristan called out as well.

Andrew looked over into the stands and smiled at the friends. Then his gaze met Matt's, who simply nodded his head. Andrew smiled at his brother and focused back on the duel. _I have such a rough crowd in comparison to Yugi's,_ he thought to himself.

"Alright, it's my move!" Yugi said, drawing his next card. Looking at the new card, Yugi gave some thought to it. _If I use this now, I might be able to get a slight advantage, but it'll only be temporary,_ he thought to himself. _For now, it's better to play defensive._

"I'll set another monster in Defense mode and play one card face-down," he announced, "and that's the end of my turn."

"I'll get you to move eventually, Yugi," Andrew said, drawing his next card. "And I'm so glad you set that card, cause now I can demonstrate Typhoonador's ability! Go, Sonic Swipe!"

The genie charged over Yugi's face-down card and destroyed it instantaneously, revealing it to be Soul Rope.

"Oooh, that would have been useful!" Andrew said. "If I had used Thundorus' effect first, you could have used Soul Rope to pay 1000 Life Points and bring out a new monster from your deck to stop me! Not too shabby, Yugi, but not good enough either! Now Thundorus, destroy his monster with your abillity!"

The mighty cloud creature charged up another electric sphere and fired it off at Yugi's monster, revealing it as Giant Soldier of Stone (3/1300/200)!

"And you already had a powerful monster in place to stop my attack again! Yugi, I'm downright flattered," Andrew said. "Of course, I'm also a little disappointed since I would've thought you would see my strategy first and then plan accordingly. Ah well, it can't be helped. Guess there's nothing to do but keep playing! I activate Ancient Time Acceleration so that I can look at the top three cards of my deck!"

Andrew then picked up three cards off the top of his deck and looked at them. He smiled and announced, "I think I'll just toss one onto the bottom and draw 1 card with Ancient Time Acceleration!"

_Then that means..._

"Oh you can read me like a book! But then again, so can I!...you!...read you like a book!" Andrew said, stumbling a little over the slight awkwardness of reversing the phrase around. Shaking his head, he announced, "And the card I decided to draw is Ancient City of the Pyramids!"

With the activation of his card, the ancient city rose up behind him once again, the sands blowing about it as the pyramids towered over the field. Joey, Tristan, and Tea looked up at the pyramids with awe, while Yugi, Kaiba, Matt, and the Admins looked up without so much awe. Andrew simply stood there and smiled.

"And now you know what that means," Andrew said. "Now my Ancient Heroes are completely indestructible!"

_I was afraid that might happen, _Yugi thought. _But there are ways of getting around his cards!_

"I'm wiling to bet you think you're safe from my attacks since I've used up my monsters with their abilities," Andrew said. "But that's where you'd be wrong. I summon Ancient Hero Lucky Death (4/1900/200) in Attack mode!"

The newest Ancient Hero rose up in the form of a skeletal reaper, brandishing dark robes that covered some of its bones. Its hood only covered its skull cap, unable to cover its face as it cackled. The signature A gleamed within the blade of the scythe it wielded.

"Alright, Lucky Death, time to have some fun! Attack Yugi's Life Points directly!" Andrew declared, sending the reaper charging at Yugi. It swung its scythe and took out a surprisingly hairy amount of Life Points!

"Wait a minute...Life Points aren't hairy!" Andrew yelped, as it was revealed that a brown furry creature cooed its way into the path of the blade and intercepted the hit!

"Sorry Andrew," Yugi said, "but I used my Kuriboh's (1/300/200) special ability to take the Battle Damage for me, saving me from your attack!"

For a moment, Andrew was shocked. Then he smiled and said, "Well, you got me. One attack to block and shock me with. I'll admit, I didn't see that coming either. You're really putting up a fight for me!"

"Well, you're definitely putting up a great challenge for me," Yugi responded with a smile.

"Seriously though, I mean it," Andrew said. "There aren't a lot of people who would be able to block off so many attacks like that. I gotta give credit where credit's due, buddy, and you're probably the biggest challenge I've yet faced with these Ancient Heroes!"

Yugi couldn't help but get a little embarrassed. Getting praise for presenting a challenge to a guy with indestructible monsters was probably a pretty high compliment, especially because the duel was far from done. And both sides knew that much!

"Go ahead, Yugi," Andrew said, "and show me what more you can do against me!"

"Alright then, my move!" Yugi announced, drawing his next card. _Alright, here it is!_

"I activate the Swords of Revealing Light!" he declared, causing a rain of swords made of light to come down from the sky and block off the Ancient Heroes! Andrew though shook his head.

"Really, Yugi, I'd have given you more credit if you came up with a better plan than this," he said. "A bunch of swords? Really? I thought I made it clear that-"

"I'm not done yet," Yugi interrupted. "I now Set this one card face-down and end my turn."

Andrew looked intrigued then smiled. "Ahhh, I see," he said. "It's the idea that you'll block off my attacks one way or another. Interesting!"

He drew his next card and looked at it. _Hmm, this won't help me rid the field of his Swords and that face-down, _he thought. _Looks like I'll just have to pick one and stick with it. And I think I know which one to go with!_

"I'll activate Typhoonador's special ability and destroy the Swords of Revealing Light!" Andrew declared, allowing for his genie to wipe out the swords with no problem. "And now I'll get right down to the brass tacks of this situation. Well Yugi, I'm sure you're familiar with my monster to know it well! I sacrifice Ancient Heroes Typhoonador, Thundorus, and Lucky Death in order to bring forth my Ancient Hero Ultimus (9/3900/3500)!"

The same aura surrounded the Ancient Heroes and transformed them into three orbs of light, which then transformed themselves into the different parts of the mighty Ancient Hero! The spirit emerged from the head of the statue once again and held up the orbs of light, ready to fire off its great power!

"So Yugi, what will you do now that I've brought out one of my best monsters?" Andrew asked rhetorically. "I'm eager to find out. Go, Ancient Hero Ultimus! Unleash your power and attack Yugi directly!"

Light charged up into the solar eye that the spirit held up, and then it fired down in a radiant beam at Yugi!

"Well Andrew, it's just as you expected," Yugi said, "but I'm afraid that it's bad news for you! I activate my Magic Cylinder trap card to redirect your attack right back at you!"

Suddenly a cylinder popped up and absorbed the entire force of the attack before another appeared in front of Andrew, who looked rather shocked.

"Huh, ya know, I always did wonder what that attack felt like," he said just as the beam of light shot outward from the cylinder and impacted with his Life Points, knocking him down again!

Yugi: 7700  
Andrew: 3100

Andrew stood up roughly, the attack having dealt a lot of damage. "Well, Yugi, I gotta say, that was quite a blast," he said. "But don't think that you've beaten me just yet. I've still got Life Points left on me to take you down with!"

_He's right,_ Yugi thought, _and with his Ancient Hero Ultimus in play, this duel is going to be an uphill battle. But now's the time to bring out my strategy!_

"It's my move!" Yugi said. "And I activate the Card of Sanctity to give us both up to six cards!"

"You're too kind," Andrew said jokingly, drawing some new cards.

"And now I activate the power of Dark Magic Curtain!" Yugi continued. "Now by paying half of my Life Points, I can Special Summon directly from my Deck the Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)!"

Yugi: 3850  
Andrew: 3100

With the spell now active, a magical curtain appeared with a skeleton atop. With the sacrifice of half of Yugi's Life Points, the skeleton pulled back the curtain and revealed the Dark Magician in all of its glory!

"Because I activated Dark Magic Curtain, I'm not allowed to summon any other monsters this turn," Yugi said. "But that's okay because I've got the cards I need to bypass your monster!"

"Oh? Enlighten me!" Andrew taunted.

"Careful what you wish for," Yugi said. "I activate my Dark Magic Attack spell card, allowing Dark Magician to wipe out all your spells and traps! Which means if you want your City of the Ancient Pyramids to stick around, you'll have to sacrifice your Ancient Hero Ultimus to save it!"

Andrew looked up at his city while the Dark Magician leapt into the air and charged up its attack. He turned back and smiled, saying, "You can take my city, but you can't take my monster. I'm already ready for you anyway."

He activated a card on his Duel Disk, but then the Dark Magician fired off its spell attack, wiping out the entire city and the rest of Andrew's spells and traps.

"Yeah! Yugi did it!" Joey cheered.

"No more indestructible monsters!" Tristan chimed in.

"And that means Yugi has a chance!" Tea added.

"And now I'll use my Thousand Knives spell to destroy Ancient Hero Ultimus!" Yugi continued. "That's the end of your Ancient Hero!"

Surrounding the Dark Magician appeared a great number of glowing knives. The Dark Magician tossed the knives, and they rained down upon Ancient Hero Ultimus! But then a barrier appeared and blocked off all the knives!

"What?!" Yugi was taken aback.

Andrew simply chuckled. "You should pay more attention to what I do sometimes," he said. "No need to get ahead of yourself before you've won. Like I said, I'm ready for ya, and my Ancient Heroes' Shield trap got activated before your Dark Magic Attack destroyed it, making my Ancient Heroes immune to your card effects this turn."

_He must have activated it in response to my Dark Magic Attack,_ Yugi thought. He looked back into his hand and announced, "Then I'll play two cards face-down and end my turn."

"Don't tell me I stopped your offense with one blow," Andrew said drawing a card. "Besides, that's Ultimus' job! And during the Standby Phase of my turn, he gains 500 Atk points!"

Ancient Hero Ultimus (9/**3900**/3500 - 9/**4400**/3500)

"Now then, let's take care of that Dark Magician!" Andrew declared. "Go Ultimus! Strike the magician down!"

Ultimus then charged up its solar eye with light and beamed it down upon the Dark Magician!

"You've activated my trap, Magician's Selection!" Yugi declared. "With it, I'm able to negate your monster's attack and destroy the monster on your field with the lowest Atk! And since you only have one monster, it's time to say goodbye to Ancient Hero Ultimus!"

The power of the trap card activated, shielding Dark Magician from the power of the light and reflecting it back towards Ultimus! The redirected attack hit its mark, and Ultimus split apart into two, collapsing from the air and landing with a powerful thud on the ground!

"He did it! He beat dat overpowered monster!" Joey cheered from the stands.

"I knew you could do it Yugi!" Tea chimed in.

"Yeah, way to go!" Tristan yelped.

Yugi smiled, having finally defeated one of the toughest monsters he had ever faced. Yet something bothered him about the destruction of Ultimus: its shattered remains were still on the field. Kaiba was the first to remark on the fact.

"Looks like you shouldn't be getting your hopes up just yet," he said. "Take a look at the field."

Joey, Tristan, and Tea all looked back at the field and saw what Kaiba was referring to. Yugi's smile faded away to a look of confusion.

"Hey! Your monster got blown apart!" Joey yelled out. "So take it off the field already!"

Andrew simply stood there and chuckled. "Really though," he said, "congratulations on destroying my monster. It takes a lot of effort to beat an Ancient Hero like that, so you should be patting yourself on the back. However..."

As he continued, the pieces of his monster began to move back together as though pulled back by some mystical power. And yet Andrew hadn't activated any Spells or Traps.

"There is one thing I hadn't told you about Ultimus," he continued on. "He's different from my other Ancient Heroes not only in terms of strength but also in ability. Whenever Ancient Hero Ultimus gets destroyed, I can instantly bring him back out of my Graveyard and once again onto the field!"

"No way!" Yugi yelped, and the pieces began to reform into the same platform, the same statue, the same solar eye and winged spheres, and the same spirit popped out again. And there it was, the reborn Ancient Hero Ultimus!

"Now that my Ancient Hero Ultimus is back on the field," Andrew said, "its Atk points have returned to what they were originally. Still, that's going to be more than enough to take out your Dark Magician! Go Ultimus! Shower the magician again with the power of your light!"

The spirit charged up the solar eye and fired its attack off once again! This time, the Dark Magician got caught up in the blast and was wiped out. The remaining light attack struck Yugi and hit him for the remainder of the attack.

Yugi: 2450  
Andrew: 3100

"Sorry to show you your efforts in defeating Ultimus are greater than before," Andrew said, "but that oughta give you an idea of how difficult this duel will be for you!"

_He's right,_ Yugi thought. _With Ultimus' effect, he'll be able to revive it no matter how many times I destroy it! I have to not only get rid of Ultimus from the field, but I have to keep it from reviving itself now too! What do I do?_

"I'll finish this turn by playing three cards face-down," Andrew finished. He looked up at Yugi and pointed directly towards him.

"Yugi! This is my challenge to you! Find a way to defeat my Ultimus, and you might just win this duel! But if you can't, then your defeat is inevitable!"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Looks like this duel's far from done! Down to less than half their Life Points, Yugi and Andrew are putting up a real fight! And the cards that give them their strength:

**Beta the Magnet Warrior** (Normal Monster card)  
Level 4, 1700 Atk, 1600 Def, Rock, EARTH

**Divine Wind** (Counter Trap card)  
Effect: Activate when a card effect that would inflict damage to you is activated. Negate the damage you take, and your opponent takes damage equal to twice the amount you would have taken.

**Ancient Hero Thundorus **(Effect Monster card)  
Level 5, 2400 Atk, 1200 Def, Thunder, LIGHT  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Once per turn, you can destroy 1 monster on the field. This card cannot attack in the turn this effect is activated.

**Ancient Hero Typhoonador** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 1200 Atk, 400 Def, Spellcaster, WIND  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Once per turn, you can destroy 1 Spell or Trap on the field. This card cannot attack in the turn this effect is activated.

**Soul Rope** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: When a monster on your field is destroyed, pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon 1 Level 4 monster from your Deck.

**Ancient Hero Lucky Death** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 200 Def, Zombie, DARK  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. When this card is sent to the Graveyard, you can discard 1 card to Special Summon it to your field.

**Kuriboh** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 1, 300 Atk, 200 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: During your opponent's turn, you can discard this card from your hand to reduce the Battle Damage you take from 1 battle this turn to 0.

**Ancient Hero Ultimus** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 9, 3900 Atk, 3500 Def, Fairy, LIGHT  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned. You must Tribute 3 "Ancient Hero" monsters you control to Special Summon this card (from your hand). This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Whenever this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon it. During your Standby Phase, this card gains 500 Atk.

**Dark Magic Curtain** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Pay half of your Life Points; Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" from your Deck. You cannot Summon any other monsters this turn.

**Dark Magician** (Normal Monster card)  
Level 7, 2500 Atk, 2100 Def, Spellcaster, DARK

**Dark Magic Attack** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: If you have a face-up "Dark Magician", destroy all your opponent's Spell and Trap cards.

**Thousand Knives** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: If you have a face-up "Dark Magician", destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.

What a monster! It can't destroyed in battle, and when it does get destroyed it comes right back?! How will Yugi conquer this beast? Or will Andrew's monster prove too much for even him? It's the end of the Battle of the Titans tournament next time!


	22. The Tournament's End

Chapter 22: The Tournament's End

"Man, how's Yugi supposed to beat a monster like dat?"

Joey's question hung in everyone's heads. After having witnessed the reviving strength of Ancient Hero Ultimus, it was hard to think of a way to rid the field of the monster permanently.

"If anyone can figure out a way of defeating it, it's Yugi," Tea said as though to comfort everyone's wondering minds.

"Yeah," Joey agreed, "Yugi could do it!"

"Come on Yugi!" Tristan chimed in for support.

_Naturally, they haven't realized the predicament Yugi's in,_ Kaiba thought to himself. _He's going up against the very same monster I had to defend against, and even I couldn't defeat it. So what will you do, Yugi?_

At that moment, another Admin entered from outside the arena and headed right for Matt. He bent over and whispered something in his ear that perked him up.

"Alright," he said, and he stood up and prepared to leave the arena. Everyone noted this and looked over at him as he left. Andrew was the first to ask, "Where are you off to?"

"I'm afraid some rather important business has come up," Matt said, "and I must attend to it immediately. Regardless, I continue to wish both of you the best of luck, Yugi especially. Hopefully, I can return before the duel is over."

"Heh, that may not be much longer," Andrew replied. "Maybe you should stick around instead, see the end and then take care of your business."

"I apologize, but that's not possible," Matt said. "I hope you both continue to fight your best despite my absence."

And with that, Matt left the arena with the other Admin in tow. Andrew simply shrugged and turned back to Yugi.

"Well then," he said, "time to make your move!"

Yugi looked up at Andrew and his monster, the mightiest of the Ancient Heroes looming over him. _What can I do? _he thought. _Against his Ultimus, I'm running out of options._

_Yugi, don't give up._

Yugi turned to his side and saw Yami floating there, standing as proudly and triumphantly as ever.

_There is a way to defend ourselves against it and possibly win,_ Yami said. _We have the power to stop Ultimus in its tracks._

_But then how can we beat it?_ Yugi asked. _He's already far stronger than any of the monsters in our Deck. _

And then he realized something: Yami was smiling. He was enjoying this duel! It didn't matter what was at stake or how unbeatable the odds were, Yami was enjoying the thrill of facing off against this monster. Yugi smiled himself when he realized this and nodded his head.

"Alright then," he said, drawing his next card, "my move!"

He looked at the card he drew. _That's it!_

"Now I Set this one card face-down on the field," he announced, "and end my turn."

Andrew looked a little surprised. "That's it?" he asked, to which Yugi simply looked back with a determined smile.

_Ahhh, I see that fire in his eyes,_ Andrew thought, smiling himself. _He's reclaimed his dueling spirit. Interesting!_

"I was expecting a little more from you than that, to be honest," Andrew said, drawing his next card, "but if that smile tells me anything, it means you're ready for what's to come!"

The others in the stands took note of this, Kaiba especially. _It can't be he's found a way to stop that card already, can it?!_

"Yeah, dat's da way Yugi!" Joey cheered. "Go all out on him!"

"You can do it, Yugi!" Tristan cheered as well.

"We believe in you Yugi!" Tea cheered too.

Andrew looked over and smiled. _What an enthusiastic and supportive crowd,_ he thought, then he turned his attention back to the duel.

"During my Standby Phase, my Ancient Hero Ultimus gains 500 Atk points, making him even stronger than he was before," he announced.

Ancient Hero Ultimus (9/**3900**/3500 - 9/**4400**/3500)

"And now, Yugi," he continued, "show me what you've got! Ancient Hero Ultimus, attack Yugi's Life Points directly!"

The spirit charged up the solar eye and prepared to fire the beam. Yugi looked on, his expression unwavering. The tension in the stands was thick enough to cut with a Duel Monsters card. Andrew waited for Yugi's response, to which there was no reply. And then the beam fired down its light upon Yugi!

"Trap card activate!"

The call rang out, and suddenly a magical circle intercepted and deflected the beam of light, protecting Yugi from the attack!

"It stopped my attack?" Andrew said curiously.

"That's not all it's going to do," Yugi said, and the circle then floated up and surrounded the spirit of Ultimus, ensnaring it in its binds! Andrew looked up and saw this, completely shocked.

"This is the power of my Spellbinding Circle card," Yugi explained. "When a monster attacks, I can use this card to stop the monster from attacking as long as the circle remains in play. And since your Ancient Hero Ultimus isn't immune to the circle's magic, it's been stopped right in its tracks!"

A cheer rang out from the stands as Joey, Tristan, and Tea celebrated Yugi's counter! Andrew continued to look on in shock, while even Kaiba managed to crack a small smirk.

"Guess his monster wasn't truly unstoppable after all," he murmured to himself.

A few moments passed, and the cheering settled down as a new sound echoed in the arena. Andrew had begun to start laughing!

"What's so funny?" Joey asked.

Andrew wiped away some kind of tear from his eye before looking up at Yugi. "You're the first person in all of my time dueling to have stopped Ancient Hero Ultimus' attack," he explained. "It really does make you the best duelist around! I figured you of all people would be able to stop the attack!"

Yugi simply smiled back. "It wasn't easy," he said, "but it was the only way I knew of to counter your monster's strength!"

"That's beautiful," Andrew said. "Regardless, though, this duel is not over yet. I'll just summon out my Ancient Hero Nomader (4/1000/1000) in Attack mode to end my turn."

Andrew was then accompanied by a warrior in a rusted armor, a lonely spear by his side that aided him like a walking stick. There was a red scarf around its neck that fluttered about like a breeze had passed by it.

"Then it's my move," Yugi said, drawing his next card. "And it looks like I'm activating my Monster Reborn spell to bring back none other than my Dark Magician!"

And with that, the Dark Magician was reborn onto Yugi's field, his ace monster ready to spring into action.

"And now, Dark Magician! Attack Ancient Hero Nomader with your Dark Magic Attack!"

The magician raised its staff and fired off a beam of dark magical energy at the nomadic warrior, hitting its armor which deflected the attack around him. While the warrior himself remained unharmed, Andrew's Life Points were still affected.

Yugi: 2450  
Andrew: 1600

"And then I'll Set this one last card face-down to end my turn," Yugi said.

"In that case, what better time to activate my trap card?" Andrew said. "Go, Curse of the Ancients!"

The curse opened up and hit Yugi first, reducing his Life Points!

Yugi: 1950  
Andrew: 1600

"As you know, when Curse of the Ancients activates, it hits your Life Points for 500 damage," Andrew explained. "And then during each turn, your monsters will get weaker and weaker due to the curse's effect."

"Dat Trap card's gonna weaken Yugi's Dark Magician!" Joey yelped.

"And it won't be the only thing!" Andrew said, drawing his next card. "First things first, it's time for monsters to power up and other monsters to power down!"

Ultimus' aura glowed brighter, increasing its strength while the curse afflicted Dark Magician and weakened it.

Ancient Hero Ultimus (9/**4400**/3500 - 9/**4900**/3500)  
Dark Magician (7/**2500**/2100 - 7/**2000**/1600)

"And on top of that," Andrew continued, "I'll use Ancient Hero Nomader's effect to reduce the Atk of the Dark Magician by another 500 points!"

The warrior then raised its spear and threw it at the Dark Magician, piercing it through and reducing its power even further.

Dark Magician (7/**2000**/1600 - 7/**1500**/1600)

"It won't matter since his monster is still trapped in the Spellbinding Circle," Kaiba sneered. "If he's going to end this duel, he's got his work cut out for him."

Andrew simply smiled. "Sorry to disappoint those in the stands," he said, "but this duel's already done."

Everyone was taken aback by this. "Don't tell me he drew a card to get out of da circle!" Joey yelped from the stands.

Andrew looked over at Yugi. "Well, Yugi," he said, "you've certainly done well. Like I've said, no one's been able to stop my Ancient Hero Ultimus' attack before. However, I've also said before that he's only one of my strongest Ancient Heroes. I actually have something even stronger than Ultimus right here in my hand."

Everyone was stunned at this point, Yugi, his friends, and the Kaiba brothers out of shock, the Admins for what was going to make an appearance on the field.

_You mean Ultimus isn't the strongest monster he had?!_ Kaiba thought, completely blown away.

Andrew picked out the card from his hand. "Ready Yugi? In order to bring out this monster, I have to sacrifice all the Ancient Heroes on my field, so say goodbye to Ancient Heroes Nomader and Ultimus and hello to the even more powerful Ancient Hero Superior (10/?/?)!"

With that, a burning aura surrounded Nomader and Ultmius, enveloping them in flames and consuming them entirely. The flames then merged together and formed a large humanoid being. Its robes were of a dark red and gold, and it wore a mask that jettisoned out from its collar, disguising part of the elderly and solemn face. Its grey hair strewed about itself, and two more flames appeared by its side. One of these flames formed itself into a golden trident while the other formed into a mallet, the signature A on its face. This new warrior grabbed each of these weapons and combined them together into one large staff, which it wielded with great ease above its head before setting it down on the ground next to it.

This stunning display caught everyone in awe, even the Admins were surprised to see this monster make an appearance! Yugi watched as he was incapable of stopping the summoning for this monster! Andrew continued to smile widely.

"This monster is vastly superior to my Ancient Hero Ultimus in a number of ways," he explained. "For instance, Ancient Hero Superior has the power of all his fallen comrades, gaining 800 Atk and Def for each one. Ancient Heroes Bladegon, Thundorus, Typhoonador, Lucky Death, Ultimus, and Nomader are all now fueling his power!"

Six auras appeared around the warrior, forming themselves into the respective Ancient Heroes and infusing themselves within it, causing its robes to brighten into a brilliant crimson and gold as well as raising its power to colossal heights!

Ancient Hero Superior (10/**?**/? - 10/**4800**/4800)

"Dat monster's powerful!" Joey exclaimed.

_It's even stronger than my Ultimate Dragon!_ Kaiba thought.

"Yugi," Andrew smiled. "This marks the first time I've had to use this monster in battle. You should have more pride now than ever, knowing you've forced me to go so far. But now, this battle is over. Ancient Hero Superior! Eliminate the Dark Magician with your power!"

The warrior raised its staff into the air and aimed the trident straight at the Dark Magician! It then lunged forward and prepared to pierce the Dark Magician!

"I activate my Trap card!" Yugi said, but as the trap intercepted the trident, it broke and was run through!

"Sorry Yugi," Andrew said, "but like I said, this duel is over."

And with that, the trident continued down its path and sliced through the Dark Magician, running through and eliminating the rest of Yugi's Life Points!

Yugi: 0  
Andrew: 1600

"And the winner of the Battle of the Titans tournament and the Champion of all Titans is, Andrew!"

Andrew's final monster disappeared from the field as he approached Yugi, who had kneeled down on the ground in exhaustion after being blown back by the attack. He offered his hand down to Yugi to help him stand up.

"You played a good duel there, Yugi," Andrew said. "It really was an honor for me to duel you."

Yugi looked up, smiled, took Andrew's hand, and replied, "Same to you. Your Ancient Heroes deck is really powerful!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's give these two a round of applause!" the small Admin spoke up, and the small crowd that was there clapped and cheered for the two.

"You did great, Yugi!" Tea said.

"Yeah, you did your best, man!" Joey added.

Kaiba simply smirked, stood up, and walked away, with Mokuba at his heels saying, "Good job, Andrew! Seto says you did well!"

Andrew smiled back uneasily. "I don't know if I want Kaiba cheering for me much anymore," he joked.

"Well Andrew," the short Admin said, "congratulations. As winner of the Battle of the Titans tournament, I'm now allowed to give you this key so that you can unlock the safe to where the Egyptian God Cards lie."

He pulled out a small card key that had been shaped like a regular key and handed it to Andrew, who received it graciously.

"Thank you, Creighton," Andrew replied, and then he turned back to Yugi and the others. "What say we grab those Egyptian God Cards out, eh?"

The others were surprised by this remark. "You want us to come with you?" Joey asked.

"Of course! Besides, Matt oughta know who managed to beat Yugi Muto!" Andrew replied, and he laughed a little overzealously much to the others' bemusement. The other Admins smiled a little, they were familiar with Andrew's antics after all.

A quick elevator ride down, and they arrived once again in Matt's office. Oddly enough, Matt wasn't around.

"Strange," Andrew said walking in. "I thought he would've been cooped up in here."

"Maybe he had to step out for a minute?" Yugi asked. A sudden ominous feeling had begun to stir in him the moment he stepped into the office, though he couldn't figure out what it was.

Andrew then remembered something from earlier and asked the Admin with the glasses, "Izzy, do you know where Matt could've gone to?"

"I'm not sure to be honest," Izzy replied, adjusting her glasses. "There are a number of different areas he could have gone to and no guarantee as to his being present there if we were to look for him at one."

"Hmmm..." Andrew mused.

"Hey guys, I found a note from Matt!" the kinder Admin Shannon said, holding up a small slip of paper. Andrew went over to her at Matt's desk and read the note.

"To whomever wins the tournament, the safe is located behind the picture," Andrew read aloud. He looked over on the desk and saw the picture of a mighty red-winged dragon in a small picture frame. It appeared behind the tall figure of a man with large spiky hair and a Duel Disk on his arm, standing triumphantly wielding it as though he were controlling the powerful dragon. Andrew couldn't help but smile as he picked up the picture frame.

"What's dat?" Joey asked out of curiosity, a question the others had on their mind as well.

"It's my brother's favorite picture," Andrew explained. "I remember when he bought this after the Battle City tournament had taken place. There were several promotional pieces done with the finalists, and he bought the one with Yugi and the Egyptian God Slifer the Sky Dragon. It's a nice picture and a clever way of hiding the cards in plain sight."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked, but he soon found out as Andrew set the picture frame down and took out the key shaped card key, swiping it down the slide of the picture frame. He then inserted the card key into the side of the frame, and the back popped out dropping the picture, three cards, and two small notes.

"Looks like they're all here," Andrew said, picking up the cards. He looked at them, and suddenly his smile vanished, and his expression changed to one of great concern. The others took note of this, and Yugi became extremely worried.

"Something wrong?" Shannon asked.

"He took it..."

Andrew put the three cards on the desk: Obelisk the Tormentor, The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Decoy Dragon.

"He's stolen Slifer the Sky Dragon."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

WHAT?! Slifer the Sky Dragon is gone?! Could the cards hold the answer to this mystery?!

**Spellbinding Circle** (Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: Select 1 monster your opponent controls; that monster cannot attack or change its battle position. When the monster is destroyed, destroy this card.

**Ancient Hero Nomader** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1000 Atk, 1000 Def, Warrior, EARTH  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Once per turn, you can reduce the Atk of an opponent's monster by 500 until the end of the next turn.

**Ancient Hero Superior** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 10, ? Atk, ? Def, Warrior, EARTH  
Effect: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by Tributing all "Ancient Hero" monsters on your field. This card cannot be destroyed in battle. This card's original Atk and Def are equal to the number of "Ancient Hero" monsters in your Graveyard x800. Once per turn, this card gains 500 Atk. This card is unaffected by the effects of your opponent's Trap cards.

A dynamite duel leads to an unsolved dilemma! For what purpose could Matt have taken Slifer the Sky Dragon? Could it have something to do with why he left the duel early? The Battle of the Titans tournament may be over, but the adventure has only just begun!


	23. An Unwelcome Visitor

Chapter 23: An Unwelcome Visitor

"WHAT?!"

Yugi was overcome with concern. Slifer the Sky Dragon was one of the three Egyptian God Cards, and without it, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle would be unable to tap into his ancient memories. Yami appeared and was already greatly concerned, but they weren't the only ones. Joey, Tristan, and Tea also knew what was at stake in terms of the Egyptian God Cards, but even Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon were alarmed by the revelation that Matt had disappeared with the God Card. Andrew was enraged, a clenched fist crumpling the note explaining his brother's disappearance:

* * *

"To whomever claims these cards,

I am sorry to have deceived you, but I have only needed the one God Card. With it, I may be able to keep myself prepared for what lies ahead of me. It is my solemn vow to Yugi that I keep the card safe, and I will remain as good as my word on that. But for now, I need to wield its power in aid of another quest of mine.

You see, I have been followed for the past few months by an evil man who wants to take over the modern world. He already has a monopoly over several industries alone, and he won't stop until he has taken control over every global industry there is. I have committed several questionably legal, moral, and ethical crimes against him in an attempt to weaken his power, but he continues to grow stronger each day. He has now even grown strong enough to come after me himself. He is not the only one I am concerned with though, but the other man is more than just my enemy.

He is an entity unlike any you have ever encountered, and he threatens a secret organization of people that I have looked into for the past several years. There is a legend long ago that speaks of a mighty power that rose up in the Middle East in the time of Babylon to stand against the laws that would limit man's freedom, and in their power were the great elemental dragon spirits. This entity I speak of has threatened this group of people since their existence, and I seek to find not only the truth in the legend but perhaps the only way of ridding the world of this evil as well.

This tournament had two purposes: one was to find the strongest duelists in the world, and I believe that that goal has been achieved. To Yugi and Andrew, I congratulate you and truly thank you for showing your prowess. You have each proven your worth, and you are the finest duelists I've had the pleasure of knowing. But the second purpose of this tournament was to take Slifer the Sky Dragon so that I may wield its power in my efforts to not only escape my enemies but also defeat them. And that is where I must ask your help.

I cannot do this alone. My absence at the time you may be reading this only serves to prove the danger I am in the moment we land the island. The base has already been surrounded by that man's forces, and I would be captured upon arrival. Sadly, this is not the only thing that will happen. My top Admins - Creighton, Izzy, Shannon - will all be taken into custody by this man, for conspiracy and obstruction of authority. My brother Andrew, as well as the remaining duelists and Admins on the island, will be sent away freely without any harm, as they have for the most part been uninvolved with my affairs.

And so I ask this of you: help me to find the Spirit Dragons and unlock the potential of my destiny. My brother knows of this task, and he will be the greatest help. As for the others, you are free to refuse and return safely to Domino City, in which case I cannot guarantee when you will see Slifer the Sky Dragon again. Fate had destined you to wield it, and I'm more than certain that it would return to you unharmed whether I am successful or not. If you accept, though, know that your assistance will be greatly appreciated and greatly rewarded.

I would have asked in person, but time is of the essence, and I found that the opportune moment could not occur when I had originally desired. I will have since fled the island, that I may escape from my enemies before I am caught. I can only hope you will accept the task I have asked of you, but I understand if you wish to walk away.

Deepest regards,

Matt Zero"

* * *

The other note was a much smaller slip of paper that only read one thing: "The secret lies with the Black Pearl."

A long silence pervaded with the group in the office. No one had suspected that Matt had planned this from the beginning, nor did they suspect that he would take the God Card without warning.

"To think, he was going to ask this after the tournament," Andrew muttered. "That fool..."

"What kind of person could force someone to take such drastic measures to take them down?" Yugi wondered aloud. "The note said you would have some idea of what he's referring to."

"We all do," Andrew said, looking up at the group. "Crieghton, Izzy, and Shannon are all personal friends of my brother and myself. We all knew about his obsession."

The other three looked down at the ground in shame. The others though remained confused. "What obsession was dat?" Joey asked.

Addressing this group, Andrew said, "The legend he speaks of in the note is in regards to what is known today as the Trinity, a secret organization that has supposedly existed for thousands of years. My brother learned about this organization of people and wanted to find them. It became his one and only thought..."

"Yay, I win again!"

Two younger teenagers were seated playing Duel Monsters, with one celebrating their victory over the other.

"You've really gotta change the cards in your deck, Matt," the victor said. "You'll never beat me if I know your strategies inside and out!"

The younger Matt smiled. "I was just waiting for the right time to invoke my strategy," he said. "It just didn't come around this time."

"You always say that when I win!" the other teen said. "Come on, if your strategy is so great, how come I never see you win with it?"

"It's all in good time," Matt replied. "Don't worry, Andrew, someday my strategy will reveal itself to you."

He patted his brother's head and got up to leave the room. Young Andrew watched on and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I've got to do more research," Matt answered, standing in the doorway.

"That's another thing, you're always researching too. What's so interesting about what you're looking into?" Andrew asked.

"I think that's because someday it'll save the world," Matt replied, and he left the room leaving his brother to watch on.

"He almost never stopped thinking about that legend, but that's all it's ever proven to be," Andrew said. "Nothing more has come of it..."

He looked down at the smaller note and remarked, "...and that piece of paper has been the only clue that's driven him to searching all this time."

Andrew then stood up and walked up to Yugi. "Yugi," he said, "I know my brother made a request of you, but now I have one as well."

Yugi looked up expectantly. He had a strong feeling he knew what Andrew's request was going to be.

"Yugi," Andrew said, "I wish to borrow one of the two remaining Egyptian God cards."

Everyone else was surprised. "Wait just one minute!" Joey yelled out. "You can't just go asking around for God Cards like dat!"

Andrew looked over sternly at Joey. "I understand that my request is steep," he said, "but with my brother out there wielding a God of his own, I need to have the power of one by my side if I'm going to take it back from him. It's my responsibility that he's gone so far in order to achieve his goal, and the God Cards are my responsibility at this time as well."

Joey looked at Andrew for a moment, a look as though he wanted to say something but couldn't. He backed down from his challenge as Andrew turned back to Yugi and said, "I know what I ask is a great deal, but please understand."

Yugi nodded and said, "I think you should talk to Yami about this."

"Yami?" Andrew asked curiously, but then Yugi swapped spirits, and the ancient spirit of the Pharaoh appeared.

"You're Yami?!" Andrew said startled. He recognized him from watching Leila and Yugi's duel, when he and Joey had been in the security booth.

"I am," Yami replied, "and I understand you wish to borrow an Egyptian God card."

Andrew stood straight again, a more respectful air about him. Yami noted this and continued on, "There are only a chosen few who possess the ability to wield an Egyptian God Card. You may not be able to handle its power."

"I'll have to take my chances," Andrew replied. "I need a God that surpasses Matt's Slifer, that way I can take it back."

Yami nodded. "There's only one God that will do that," he said. "Are you sure you will be able to wield it?"

"We'll find out soon enough," Andrew said. Yami then reached for The Winged Dragon of Ra and handed it over to Andrew who accepted it graciously.

"I promise to you that I will return this God Card along with Slifer the Sky Dragon," Andrew said, but then suddenly The Winged Dragon of Ra card began to glow. Its light flashed greatly and brightly, nearly blinding everyone in the room.

"What's happening?!" Andrew yelled out, but the others could do nothing but watch as the light seemed to keep them in place. And then just as quickly as it appeared, the light disappeared. Andrew opened his eyes and looked back down at the card.

"What's this?" he asked. "The card art changed?"

Yami looked down at the card and saw that The Winged Dragon of Ra had reverted into its Sphere Form. He took hold of the card and closed his eyes for a moment. Andrew watched as he did this.

Then Yami opened his eyes and said, "I'm afraid that Ra has deemed you unworthy at this time of wielding his power."

"What?!" Andrew was surprised. "But I defeated you in a duel! Surely that means something!"

"That's not the only thing Ra said," Yami interrupted. "As I've relayed, it has deemed you unworthy at this time, but I have said that you are more than worthy of wielding its power. I explained the conflict as of now, and Ra has agreed that when the time comes, it will grant you its power."

"When the time comes..." Andrew looked down at the card in his hand. To think it was powerful enough to have a will all on its own. He had never encountered such a card in his life, but he had come to terms with such unusual instances after being familiarized with them by his brother.

"Very well then," Andrew said, and he stowed the card away in a deck box in his jacket pocket. "I think it's best that you hang onto the third Egyptian God Card. I don't want to ask for it and take all of them away from you at least."

"That's fair," Yami said, and so he swapped souls with Yugi once again, bringing the young boy back.

At that moment, a loud rumble was heard, and a thud shook the entire company. "What da heck was dat?!" Joey yelped.

"Matt must have programmed the Autopilot before he left to take us back to the island core," Andrew said.

"Affirmative," Izzy said while operating a side monitor. "An analysis of the computer's functions indicates that the Autopilot had been set to take us back here to the island."

"And right into his hands..."

A notable disdain came from Andrew's remark. Yugi looked over at Andrew curiously, but Andrew continued on towards the door.

"Alright then," he said, "let's get a move on. We're going to need to get the others off of this island as well."

He led the group out of Matt's office and into the elevator. There, they journeyed down to the base of the tower and left through the lobby area where several of the duelists that had made it to the final rounds were. They were all looking around, wondering what the impact itself was. Andrew raised his hands over his head to get the attention of those in the lobby.

"Everyone stay calm," Andrew called out, "and head out to the docks through that door. We've already prepared several ships to take you back home to Domino City. Please follow the personnel onto these ships, and everything will go smoothly."

The duelists all looked around at each other and began murmuring some things to each other, most of which were in concern to where their host had disappeared to. Eventually they migrated through the doorway, clearing the path for Andrew and the others, who then exited the tower themselves.

Outside the tower was a large patrol of uniformed individuals, but they were not in the Admin uniforms for the tournament. As opposed to the Admins' dark blue uniforms, these people were dressed in white uniforms with grey trimmings along their outer rims. They had similar pins to the white dragons the Admins wore, but theirs were of a black and curvy M. These new patrolmen immediately assisted the oncoming duelist flood with boarding the surrounding vessels, a good number of them in sight.

"I wonder why they brought out so many ships?" one duelist asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" another replied. "They have to pick us up along with the losers from the preliminary rounds."

These sorts of conversations took place across the duelist crowd, and an unspoken established reasoning for the multitude of vessels seemed to keep the crowd in check. Nobody really cared why there were so many vessels once the rain began to pour from the grey clouds floating above.

"So the man looking for your brother is supposed to be with these guys?" Yugi asked Andrew.

"Supposedly," Andrew replied. "I just hope he wasn't referring to who I think he's referring to."

"My my, Andrew, it's been too long."

A thud and splash of boots in one of the puddles that had begun to form on the ground not far from the group. The party turned to looked at a single man accompanied by four others who were each carrying a thin metal pole that held up a large tarp that covered the area above the man's head. The man himself was decorated unlike any of the rest of the uniformed persons such that he would easily be picked out from a group amongst them as the one and only leader.

The man was dressed as though he were ready to jump back in time to the eighteenth century and live there forever. He wore a purple jacket over a red vest, each one trimmed with gold. The gold was well-polished, even the buttons glowed in what little light had penetrated through the clouds. He wore a dark pair of pants that merged with his old-fashioned boots, ideal for walking in the rain. A sash was draped across his body, where a sheathed sword remained at his left hip. An elaborate and pristinely white silk cravat was tied around his neck, going almost identically with his greying goatee, mustache, and shoulder-length hair. An eyepatch covered his left eye, and a sly smile was upon his face.

"Surely it has been almost a year since I had last seen you," the man said, tapping the walking cane he brandished into the rough and somewhat muddy ground. "Why I'd be willing to believe you've grown since our last encounter."

Andrew grimaced a little as the man addressed him. "I should have known it would be you," he said.

"Wait a sec," Joey interrupted, "you two know each other?"

"Oh, Andrew and I go way back, young man," the man answered. "You might say we've dealt in the realms of business before. Of course, I've dealt far more with his insolent older brother than I have with him, and I'm sure you realize that he's the one I'm looking for."

Several of the other uniformed officials came over to the group and began handcuffing Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon.

"I've no qualm with Andrew or his little friends," the man continued, "but as for these three, they owe me an explanation for his brother's activities. And believe me, I have a long list of very illegal activities he's been apart of."

"And what are you bringing up on my brother then?" Andrew asked.

The man chuckled. "He probably hasn't told you, but there have been a number of crimes he's committed against me," the man answered. "Off the top of my head, I know of larceny, arson, kidnapping, burglary, piracy, and in general being a disruptive force throughout my worldwide company, not to mention such trivial matters as impersonating workers or as particularly high-ranking individuals."

The man looked over at Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon. "And as for those three," he continued on, "they're going to be taken in on the grounds of conspiring to set free a man convicted of such crimes, and if they don't comply it will be an obstruction of authority as well."

The man turned back to Andrew and held out an old looking piece of parchment rolled up nicely. Andrew took it and opened it up, the rain coming down upon the fresh ink of the pages. Andrew's eyes then suddenly grew wide, giving the man a reason to smirk.

"I think you understand the gravity under which I've made clear my terms of arrest," the man said, taking back the paper from Andrew.

"Whaddya mean by that!" Creighton called out. Andrew turned, a grave look on his face as he faced the three.

"You've been charged with conspiracy and possible obstruction of authority," Andrew said, "but because of the nature on which the conspiracy is based on, you may be charged with a life-time sentence or even death."

A grim silence pervaded the group as the rain poured down. Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon stood there looking at Andrew, unable to comprehend what he had just stated. The man sighed a moment and then commanded, "Take them away now."

And with a great deal of struggling from Creighton, the uniformed suits took the three away onto one of the ships. Andrew and the others could do nothing but watch on and listen to Creighton's cries as they were taken away. Andrew turned back to the man standing before them who had begun to turn away back to his own ships.

"I trust that you'll abide by helping to bring your brother to my judgment," the man said as the men that accompanied him with the tarp carried it once again to cover him. The rest of the men turned back, and one by one the ships began to leave the island, Andrew, Yugi, and the others. Andrew turned back to the tower and headed inside.

"Wait for us!" Joey said, with Yugi and the others all running after Andrew into the tower. Upon getting inside, they found him standing in the center of the lobby, his fists clenched.

"Who was that man?" Tea asked, concerned.

"That man...was none other than Montalban, head of the Montalban International Alliance of Corporations," Andrew said. "I'm acquainted with him, but only because he wanted to procure Matt's own personal company, something Montalban does often. He targets small businesses and either buys them out or else forces them into bankruptcy with his other companies. Seems that Matt's gotten into more than just trouble with business negotiations if what Montalban says is true."

The friends looked at each other in bewilderment. What kind of person was Matt to be involved with someone so powerful? And what's more to have also taken Slifer the Sky Dragon in order to somehow alleviate this debt or another? It was beginning to appear that Matt was not the man they had known in those few days of the tournament. Andrew turned to look at them, a desperate look on his face as he walked up to Yugi.

"Yugi," he said, putting his hand on Yugi's shoulder, "I know this is all a lot to take in, and it's far more than you would have bargained for initially, but now I have to make another request for you. Get out while you still can. There's no sense in endangering your lives for this, even for an Egyptian God Card. It's become my responsibility to right the wrong my brother has committed against you and your friends, and I should be the only one to take care of this. I'll commend a ship and crew to take you back-"

At that moment, Yugi put his own hand on top of Andrew's on his shoulder and interrupted, "It's all right. You don't have to protect us."

"He's right," Joey said. "We've dealt with lotsa crazy-bad people in da past, and we're not about ta just sit around while another goes after your brother!"

Andrew looked up surprised. "After all he's put you through...after everything you've just witnessed, and after everything my brother warned you about in that note, you would offer to help even now?" he asked.

Yugi simply nodded his head. "After all, Slifer the Sky Dragon's my responsibility more so than yours," he continued. "I know that Yami wouldn't rest easy until he knew it was safe."

Andrew looked down again sullenly. "I understand that, but-"

"No buts," Joey said. "We're going with ya, and dat's dat!"

"And you can't forget about us," Tristan said.

"We'll help out in any way we can," Tea added.

Andrew looked around at this small group of people that were now providing support. He closed his eyes and smiled again.

"Thank you all," he said, looking up at the others again, "but there's nothing that can really be done with so large a group. However, I will take you up on your offer at some point. For now, we'll have to play things by ear to ensure that everything goes the way we want it to."

He then walked past the group and said, "Come along! There's much business to attend to!"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Well, we don't have any cards this time, so I'll take this opportunity to talk more about how this story came to be!

As I said in the beginning, this story originated as an idea from my brother, who came up with the idea for the Spirit Dragons. As was the case between us, we liked making up cards for the game, and my brother's favorite Type was the Dragons. Throughout our playtimes, we did a lot of dueling with each other, and one day he came to me with the idea of the Spirit Dragons and the Trinity. He had even set-up a powerpoint presentation over it! Over the years, the storyline hasn't changed much, but we did revisit it every now and again. Sometimes we even started it all over again. And it was always a joy working on the story and tweaking all sorts of elements. Eventually, we split off to go to different colleges in different states, which dampened our ability to hang out and do stuff together, and in memoriam to the plotline we had worked on and off for years, I decided to start writing it down.

Next time: the origin of the Ancient Heroes!


	24. The Approaching Darkness

Chapter 24: The Approaching Darkness

In the realms of a dark island, prisoners are sentenced to a painful and barbaric form of sentencing. Crows feast upon the flesh of those placed in the cages just outside, who scream in their eternal torture. No one knows of such a place, and those that do have never known of such a place so terrifying since the days of Alcatraz. No one escapes the island alive.

No one, that is, save for the man in the coffin.

After each body is found, they are placed in small coffins and are thrown into the ocean. And so one such coffin is thrown into the ocean after so many others. Each coffin is meant to float endlessly or else be sunk to the depths, depending on the crime of the convicted corpse. And so it is one such coffin that floats endlessly out into the open ocean, accompanied by its thieving corpse.

And its thieving man.

The man inside eventually forced himself out, breaking out through the rotting wood that covered and sealed him inside along with the dead body. He promptly tore off the corpse leg and guided the vessel over towards a nearby ship.

This ship was old, its wood creaking and yet finely polished. The ties that bound its ancient sails to the masts swayed in the ocean breeze as a lowly drunkard wandered the decks singing an old tune merrily. As the floating coffin knocked against the hull of the ship, a loud bell rang out at the island, an alarm to find the man who was already long gone.

The drunkard quickly came to the side of the ship and held out his hand to assist the new arrival, only to be handed a very wet and very dead leg. "Not exactly according to plan, huh Matt?" the drunkard asked wearily, tossing the leg away as Matt climbed onto the deck of the ship.

"Complications arose, ensued, were overcome," Matt replied as he walked across the deck and out over to his quarters. Or at least that's where he would have gone had the crew not suddenly appeared to intercept his path.

"Captain, it would seem that the crew...meaning, me as well, were expecting something more plentiful and...shiny," the drunk spoke up, bringing attention to a rather pressing matter on the crew's mind. Most of them were in Matt's employment for the duration of the Battle of the Titans tournament, but as they were forced to abandon the tournament grounds quickly to evade capture by Montalban, they remained unpaid by Matt. With the account on their services for the tournament - and in addition this well-kept secretive task - they were expecting something for what they had done.

Matt gave a weary eye over the crew before him before turning back to the drunkard. "Shiny, you say?" he asked.

"Aye, shiny."

Matt looked back at the crew. "Is that what you're all feeling then?" he asked. "That Captain Matt hasn't satisfied your needs well enough?"

"We're still looking for our payment, and we won't be sailing anywhere else until we get our pay!" shouted out one of the crew members. Others followed suit and cheered on their monetary neediness. Matt rolled his eyes for a moment.

"Gentlemen, please," he said, "there will be more than each one's fair share of whatever fortune you want, but that will not come until we find the chest."

A hushed silenced fell over the crew as all eyes turned back towards Matt. He had them in his grasp now.

"What chest?"

"Did he say something about a chest?"

"Anybody got bread?"

"Aren't you paying attention?"

A series of murmurs spread throughout the crew as Matt reached into the pocket of his long coat and pulled out a raggedy piece of parchment. He held it up in front of everyone so that they could see what was on it.

"It's a key!" someone shouted.

"No, it's much better and more than a key," Matt said. "It is a_ drawing_ of a key."

Indeed, the parchment held a drawing of an extremely unique key, one that was held together by a ring which held three blades. The center blade was of a tubular shape while the other two were each double-sided with their own unique set of teeth on each side. The murmurs in the crew picked up again, but they were cut off by Matt's remark. "Gentlemen," he asked, "what do keys do?"

A slight pause occurred before someone said, "Keys unlock things?"

"And whatever this key unlocks," the drunkard continued on, "inside there's something valuable, so we're going to find whatever it is this key unlocks!"

"No," Matt answered. "We don't have the key, then we can't unlock whatever it is this key unlocks, so how can we unlock it with that key - which we don't have - unless we go find the key first?"

"So...we're going to look for this key!" the drunkard piped up.

"You're not making any sense at all," Matt retorted, causing the drunkard to be taken aback with confusion. "Any more questions?"

"Do we have a heading?" someone asked.

"Ah! Yes, a heading!" Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out a curious medallion. It was engraved with such markings like those on a navigational compass, though instead of simply one rotating dial there were two such dials. He held it out in the palm of his hand and looked down at it.

"Let's sail in a..."

The crew waited anxiously for Matt's guidance as he raised a finger that twirled about. He continued to look down at the medallion as though it were going to tell him something. No one was sure of where Matt had procured such a curious antique or why he used it in all of his navigating. It appeared to do nothing more than lie there and act as a paperweight. However, this medallion was special to Matt, as he was the only one who saw the glowing of one of the dials as it spun around the medallion, trying to read it for the heading he wanted.

"That way, direction!" he said at last, pointing off to the starboard side of the ship. The crew looked off the starboard side of the ship as if expecting to see something.

"Captain?" the drunkard asked curiously.

"Come on, Willaby, hop to it!" Matt yelped out at the drunkard. "Let's get these people moving!"

"Uh, aye sir," the drunken Willaby responded. "Weigh anchor and sail off starboard side! Full canvas!"

"Full canvas!"

"Aye sir!"

A scuttling and scurrying of feet occurred as the crew sprung to life, running about the deck of the ship as Matt retired to his quarters at last. Willaby watched him enter the cabin, a bemused expression on his face as another crew member walked up to him.

"Seems to me," the crewman said, "that the captain's been acting a bit strange...-er."

"Setting course without knowing his own heading?" Willaby replied. "Something's wrong with whatever he's planning, and whatever goes wrong for Matt goes wrong for us all. Keep a wary eye on the horizon, make sure we don't run into anything we shouldn't."

"Aye sir," the crewman said as he ran off again. Willaby looked towards the cabin again and shook his head.

"It's going to be a long voyage," he said to himself as he prepared to follow orders himself.

"I trust that the guards didn't handle the two of you too roughly then?"

Creighton and Izzy, still in their uniforms from the tournament, simply glared back at a reclined Montalban in his lavishly furnished office as a decorator painted some minute details on the map that took up most of a single wall. The mahogany chairs and desk were all finely crafted, very delicate, and well polished; this gave them a certain glow in the room as Creighton and Izzy came into the room escorted by the guards.

"I assure you, these aren't necessary," Izzy said, indicating the handcuffs.

"I dunno, they might be," Creighton remarked, trying for the umpteenth time to struggle out of his own.

"Try not to injure yourself too much, young man," Montalban said. "After all, it will do neither you nor me any good if you are of no use to the errand I want you two to take up."

Montalban signaled one of the guards who walked up to the two and unlocked their handcuffs. Creighton and Izzy both checked their wrists as the cuffs were removed, and the guard bowed to Montalban before leaving the room with them.

"What errand would you be referring to?" Izzy asked curiously.

"It's nothing that the two of you would be incapable of performing, I assure you," Montalban said. "There have been reports of a curious sailing vessel beached over at an island not far from here, relatively speaking. It's beyond the island where that tournament was held, but only by a few nautical miles."

The two looked at each other then back at Montalban. "You're referring to that uninhabited island just beyond Titan Island, yes?" Izzy asked.

"That would be the one," Montalban replied, scoffing for a moment when Izzy mentioned the name of the island. Titan Island was only named as such because of the Battle of the Titans tournament that had been held there a couple of weeks prior. The island had since been taken control of by Montalban's forces and was being reconstructed as a headquarters for his own company.

"The island in question," Montalban continued as he began pouring some brandy into a couple of glasses on the desk in front of him, "is supposed to be uninhabited, and it is because of the appearance of this vessel that I suspect Matt Zero has landed there."

He held out one of the glasses, but Creighton scrunched his face up in disgust while Izzy simply shook her head. Montalban shrugged and returned the brandy to the desk as Izzy asked, "And I assume that you will want us to venture to this island to find Matt for some ulterior purpose?"

Montalban smirked as he sipped some of the brandy before turning back to Izzy. "I would like for you to track Matt down and negotiate some terms with him," he said. "It's of a great amount of importance to me."

"What, negotiate his arrest?" Creighton retorted.

"Bargain with him," Montalban snapped back. He took a breath and regained his more gentlemanly business attitude and addressed the two once more, "There is something of value that Matt has in his possession that I have much of my own desire for."

"And what would you have to bargain with?" Izzy asked.

"I'm just as aware as you are that Matt would have no interest in money alone," Montalban said, returning to his desk and opening one of the drawers. He pulled out a manilla envelope and tossed it onto the desk for Creighton and Izzy to see. It was marked "Letters of Marque."

"It's an old-fashioned way of saying that Matt would have all the charges against him dropped, and that he is then free to sail the sea under my employment," Montalban explained.

"I doubt that Matt would consider sailing under your command the same as being free," Creighton said.

"Freedom..."

Montalban sipped some more of the brandy from his glass as the guard who took the cuffs out came back, albeit looking strangely different from before somehow. Montalban noted this but disregarded it, assuming that the guard had sent in another one of the employees in, the sort of thing that happened all the time in a company as large as his. He'll have to look up who the guard was that was there at the start and dock his pay later. He turned towards the large window balcony behind him and looked out of it.

"Matt Zero is a dying breed of man," Montalban said. "The world has changed much in the time man has been around. To be a roaming nomad in this day and age is to suffer for it. Matt must either merge together with the man of today or else fade away into the sands of time."

"And the ship will help to clear that up?" Creighton asked. Montalban turned towards Creighton expectantly, and Creighton followed up, "The property he has that you want?"

"The _Poseidon,_ hardly," Montalban replied. "The item in question is of a significantly smaller scale and a far more valuable piece: a compass medallion."

Izzy and Creighton both looked at each other, giving Montalban the hint he was looking for. "So you do know of it?" he asked them both, bringing their attention back to him as he walked back up to his desk and set the glass of brandy down.

"Bring me that medallion," he said, "or there'll be no guarantee for your freedoms either."

The two looked at each other again. It was clear that in order to save themselves, they would need to retrieve that compass medallion from Matt. Then suddenly another question came to mind.

"What about Shannon?" Izzy asked.

Montalban picked up the glass of brandy again and sipped the rest of it down. "Insurance," he said, setting the glass down again. He signaled towards the guard that had returned to the room to come over to him, which the guard did so quickly.

"Take these two down to the docks so that they may board one of my ships for their journey," he said, "and also tell the guard that sent you in here that he'll have to report to me as soon as he can."

"Aye sir," the guard said, and he led Creighton and Izzy out of the office. Montalban watched the three leave together, unsure of something. Was that one of his guards? The voice sounded oddly familiar...

Creighton and Izzy were led over to the elevators while the guard scribbled a note on a notepad he whipped out. As they arrived at the elevators, the guard pressed one of the buttons and walked over to one of the plants nearby, where Creighton and Izzy could see a handcuffed pair of bare feet sticking out. The guard leaned down and left the note on the body there, which said, "Please report to Montalban ASAP~"

The guard returned and looked up at Creighton and Izzy as the elevator doors opened. The three friends then entered the elevator together, and the guard took off his cap to reveal his identity as none other than Andrew. He pressed the button for the level with the docks, and the elevator doors closed as another guard was passing by the doors.

"Alright, so Shannon is in what cell?" Andrew asked.

"She's on the third basement floor, cell block E, cell number 23," Izzy replied.

"B3-E-23, how convenient," Andrew said, amused over the alliterate-like number. "What did Montalban ask of you guys?"

"Find Matt and get the compass medallion from him," Creighton answered. "Of course, Matt would never agree to any terms of Montalban's."

"As we all know," Andrew said as he started writing something else down on the notepad. "Where are you guys headed towards?"

"We're headed to the uninhabited island beyond Titan Island," Izzy answered. "Apparently, Matt's ship has been beached there."

"That's going to be a problem if one of Montalban's ships are just off-shore," Andrew said, handing the note he had written down to Izzy. "Here, for the both of you, my contact so that you guys can keep in touch with me. I'll free Shannon and board another ship as soon as I can to follow. Tell me where Matt's going so I can meet up with you all as soon as possible."

"Understood," Izzy said, pocketing the note as Andrew replaced the uniform cap on his head. The doors opened again, and Andrew escorted the two out onto the docking platform.

"Good luck, you guys," he whispered to them as they approached another guard. To this guard, Andrew said in a gruffer voice, "Montalban's sending these two on a mission, escort them to one of the ships."

"Aye sir," the guard replied, and so Creighton and Izzy followed the guard down the docks as Andrew slunk back towards the elevators.

It had only been two days earlier that the _Poseidon _was out at sea one lonely night. Matt was in his quarters inspecting a large nautical map, using his compass tool to try and chart the course that would lead the ship to where it needed to go. He looked over at his compass medallion, the dial still switching back and forth but remaining steadily towards one general direction. If he had at least that much, he could have the ship sail towards it and hope that the medallion would be a little clearer as they got closer.

And then the dial did it again! It changed to point in another direction that would completely undo all the work he put into mapping again. Matt tossed the compass tool with frustration and reached for an empty glass bottle. He went to drink from it when he realized the emptiness of its insides and inspected the bottle, as though he were expecting to find some liquid to drink from it rather than air.

Finding no such luck, he simply murmured, "Why is the rum always gone..."

He got up from his mapping table and clothed himself with his long coat and special hat. The hat wasn't any different from any other tricorn hat, but it had been with Matt long enough to give it sentimental value. He then lit a lantern with the use of a couple of matches and descended down into the hull of the ship.

The staircase went down into the crew's quarters, where most of the crew slept in hammocks. The _Poseidon_ was incredibly old-fashioned in this regard, but there was good reason for it. Matt didn't want to be picked up by any modern technology, so he avoided having the latest ship with the latest gadgets and decided to take a more time-tested approach. He figured that without all the gadgetry, Montalban's forces wouldn't be able to track him down so easily. For a while, at least, this seemed to be true.

As Matt passed by the sleeping crew members, he muttered, "As you were, gents," to them, as though to acknowledge their sleeping presence before he descended further into the ship. He came upon the storage area where all the racks were that held all the bottles on the ship which in turn held all the rum.

Or at least it should have, but it appeared that most of the rum was gone. Matt looked around the rack for such a bottle but stumbled upon nothing more than empty cubbyholes and the few barnacles living inside them. He was going to have to get someone to clean that out, the ship hadn't been cleaned in a while. He looked down and finally saw what he was looking for: a lonely bottleneck sticking out from the holes. He smiled and reached for it to pull it out, but as he did a large amount of sand emptied out from the bottle instead.

"Your time's run out, Matt."

A crash later, and the bottle was scattered into shards across the floor as Matt looked over startled at the presence of someone that wasn't sleeping, someone that was creeping instead. He couldn't make them out in the dark of the ship and slowly approached them with the lantern to bring more light on them.

"...Bonesman?" Matt asked.

The face of his former crewman looked up at him with a sorrowful smile, his face discolored into a sickly green. Part of the flesh of it appeared burned off, as though by some malady or flame, revealing the skull beneath it. Matt stood there with his mouth agape, completely taken aback by Bonesman's presence as well as his new appearance.

"You look good, Matt," Bonesman spoke first, dribbling some water from his mouth. Matt simply stared back in awe, wonder, disgust, or some combination of them all. He cocked his head to the side as Bonesman stared back at him as well.

Matt stood up straighter and asked, "Is this a dream?"

Bonesman looked around and said, "I don't think so."

"I thought not," Matt replied, setting the lantern down. "If it were, there'd be rum."

Matt heard a crackle of bones popping as Bonesman handed him a bottle with a rather skeletal arm. Matt hesitantly grabbed the bottle and forcibly yanked it out of Bonesman's tight grasp. He dusted off the bottle as Bonesman looked around the ship again.

"The _Poseidon_ looks like it's seen better days," Bonesman said somberly.

"It certainly has," Matt acknowledged, blowing off some dust from the bottle. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your corpsey appearance?" "He sent me," Bonesman answered simply. Matt waited for a moment before Bonesman said, "Adolf Rommel."

A pause as Matt took this in. "So it really is you then," he finally said, taking a drink from the bottle. After drinking his fill, he looked back at Bonesman and asked, "And how exactly did he shanghai you into his service?"

"I chose it," Bonesman replied. "You ought to remember the circumstances of my untimely death, way back when we were escaping from Montalban's grasp while the remains of El Dorado burned to the ground."

"Ah, I remember that well," Matt said, handing the bottle back to Bonesman.

"I was caught in the tower and forced to plunge down in the depths of the sea below," Bonesman continued. "I couldn't do anything where I was, burning away and drowning at the same time. I thought if there was any way of escaping it, I'd take it. And that's when he showed up."

"He tends to do that," Matt said while standing up. "Give Rommel my regards then, eh?"

He turned to head back, but Bonesman stood up quickly and intercepted his path. "You won't be able to talk your way out of this one, Matt," he said. "He helped raise the _Poseidon_ from the depths of the ocean, and you've served as its captain for seven years as arranged."

"Technically, I was only captain for three years, and then I was viciously mutinied upon-"

"Then it's the Beyond for you! The offer he gives everyone still stands as before, one hundred years of servitude upon the _Gladius Divinum._ Or you can let him hunt you down with his mighty beast, the most evil and foul of all creatures in the sea, ready to drag those who cross his path down into the depths of the oceans and into the realm of the Beyond, never to be seen or heard from again."

Matt paused for a bit as Bonesman made the circumstances clear. "Any idea when Rommel will release said terrible beastie?" he asked.

Bonesman shook his head. "I already told you, Matt," he said. "Your time's up."

He grasped Matt's hand and held it for a moment before releasing it and walking away. "He comes now, his beast drawn with hunger to he who bears the Mark of Rommel."

Matt looked down at his hand, and sure enough there was a series of four lines crossing over each other, a blackened skull right in the center of the design in the palm of his hand. He looked for Bonesman, but he was already gone from the hull of the ship. Matt looked back down at the mark before turning around, snatching the lantern, and dashing madly up the stairs.

"WAKE UP, YOU SCOUNDRELS, AND MAKE WAY!" he shouted out as he passed the crewmen sleeping soundly, promptly causing them all to wake up and scurry about onto the deck of the ship. "COME ON, NOW, MOVE IT!"

The quiet air was replaced with Matt's shouted commands, the hustle of crewmen across the ship, and the relaying shouts of them all as they worked furiously to ready the ship for whatever it was that Matt had wanted them. Willaby ran up to Matt and asked, "Where are we to go?"

Matt yelped in surprise and said, "Run, land, now," before disappearing behind a mast. Willaby looked around the mast, with Matt appearing on the other side and yelping again.

"What port?" Willaby asked insistently.

"Any port! Just go to land!" Matt replied. Suddenly a strong cross breeze swept the deck of the ship, and Matt's hat went flying off his head and into the ocean. Several crewmen including Willaby ran over to the side of the ship to watch the hat.

"Matt's hat! Turn her around!" Willaby shouted out.

"Nay, belay that!" Matt shouted out. Everyone looked at Matt with a great deal of shock. Matt was leaving behind a hat that he had always turned the ship around for.

"Run!" Matt said, dashing off under the stairs. The other crewmen had begun to notice this strange behavior and were stopping their work to look down at Matt. Willaby turned the crew and shouted out, "Back to work!"

As the crew continued their work, Willaby located Matt and asked, "For the love of all that is holy, what's coming after us?!"

Matt looked at him and only said, "Nothing."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

...what? You were going to make a comment about this plot being extremely similar to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest?

...alright, guilty pleasure then: this is the part of the storyline that is based heavily off of this movie. Granted, I've worked on it quite a bit to differentiate it as much as possible from the source and make it more "original", but...well, it's the thought that counts!

Anywho, the origin of the Ancient Heroes starts off years ago, right with the entrance of the Elemental Heroes and the Destiny Heroes. Yes, once I heard about the latter, I knew I wanted to make a set of Heroes myself. But what could I do? Elemental Heroes seemed to be based on elements (although in actuality they're based on American superheroes), Destiny Heroes based on London or something...oh, I know! How about I base a group off of ancient times? And thus were the first breed of Ancient Heroes born in some sense. Over the years, the originals have mostly been lost (save for one, I'll mention it when he shows up), and this second batch of Ancient Heroes were made in their stead. I don't remember much of the originals, I think I was going to base one off of Goliath, again from the Bible (Christian backgrounds, what you do to my Yugioh). But other than that one Hero that has truly surpassed the test of time, I don't remember the first breed at all. Maybe they weren't as memorable? Or maybe I've grown attached to the newer, more balanced, and greater Ancient Heroes.

Next time: the man that would be Montalban


	25. Island of Mayhem

Chapter 25: Island of Mayhem

Creighton and Izzy arrived at the supposedly uninhabited island on a small boat given to them by the crew of Montalban's ship. The ship itself was located offshore in visible sight, the intent being that Creighton and Izzy would find Matt, retrieve his compass medallion from him, and return to the ship in due time. The two knew though that intention was far from the truth of the matter.

They beached the boat next to a much larger vessel, made of dark wood and tied down at various parts of the beach to prevent the tide from taking it. The name on the side of the ship read out _Poseidon_.

"It's Matt's ship alright," Creighton mused. Izzy looked around as Creighton began shouting out, "Matt! Matt Zero!"

There was no reply, no response of any kind from the ship. Izzy noted some small footprints, faded and headed towards the jungle as Creighton continued shouting out for Matt and a couple of the other crew members. He eventually gave up and joined with Izzy.

"Well I'm all out of ideas," he said. Izzy then walked off into the jungle, and Creighton quickly followed. The two came across a parrot that flew down onto one of the nearby cut-down tree trunks.

"Hey, I know that parrot!" Creighton said. "Didn't that old codger have one just like it?"

"Woolly did have a parrot like that," Izzy said, "and that parrot is in fact Woolly's parrot."

The parrot squawked and said, "Don't eat me!"

The two gave each other a look before Creighton turned back to the parrot and said, "We're not going to eat you."

"Come on, let's go find the others," Izzy said, and the two continued forward as the parrot continued to squawk out, "Don't eat me! Don't eat me!"

The two ventured deeper into the jungle and eventually stumbled upon a curiously small flask. Izzy sniffed the flask's opening and said, "Willaby."

"That strong, huh?" Creighton noted, and then he looked curiously over a small string attached to the neck of the flask. He reached out for it but had his hand slapped by Izzy. He looked up at her with annoyance as she shook her head and pointed. The string led deeper into the jungle, and so the two traced it back carefully to a curious tree trunk.

"There's nothing here," Creighton said. Izzy looked around carefully and-

"Duck!" she shouted as a camouflaged native popped out of the shadow of the tree and swung a club at Creighton's head, swiftly knocking him out. Izzy attempted to run but found she had been caught in another trap, one that grasped her foot and dragged her up into the air as a number of other natives appeared from the brush. Most only had loincloths on, and there were numerous tattoos and facial piercings on each one. Izzy struggled in the trap and brought out a small dagger from her pocket.

"Get back!" she shouted. "I have a weapon, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

The natives looked over at each other, and then a rushing wind sounded through a pipe as Izzy felt a tiny prick in her neck. Her head ached, her eyes blurred, she began to feel very fatigued and dropped her dagger just before blacking out.

* * *

Izzy awoke to find herself upside down and tied to a long pole, being carried up a large mountain with the sound of drums thumping rhythmically. She looked around her to find the same natives that had gathered around her to now be carrying her up the mountain, along with Creighton on another pole just in front of her. She sighed and waited for the natives to carry them wherever they were all going.

Eventually they reached the summit and crossed a long bridge to get to the tribal area, where they appeared to be even more natives around. The leader of the small group of natives that had captured Izzy and Creighton spoke up to a central figure on a large throne-like chair as the others turned Creighton and Izzy to be presented to it. Izzy looked over and immediately recognized that the figure in question was none other than Matt, guised in some kind of ceremonial markings. As Matt looked down at Izzy and Creighton, Creighton finally woke up from getting knocked out and looked at Matt.

"Oh good," he said in a somewhat slurred voice. "I can honestly say I'm glad to see ya, Matt!"

Matt stood up and walked over to the leader of the hunting pack. Izzy watched as Matt began conversing with the leader in their tongue, a remarkable spectacle for anyone who hadn't known Matt for as long as she had known him. Creighton watched this as well, but he spoke up, "Matt, it's us! We're your friends!"

Matt continued to talk with the leader, gesturing at Creighton and Izzy and giving disapproving looks. Izzy was sure that Matt recognized them, but with no knowledge of what the language the natives were speaking was, she couldn't expect to know what he was talking about. Then Matt finally began to walk back to his throne, allowing for the compass medallion to swing by his side such that Creighton and Izzy could see it.

"Matt, the medallion, we need it!" Creighton said. "Shannon's still trapped by Montalban in one of his jails! She's going to die!"

Matt stopped his pace for a moment and paused before turning back around and walking right back to the pack leader. He then began to hurriedly talk in their language before finally giving a dismissive command, one that the leader shouted out to the other natives much to their cheer. Matt walked up to Creighton and Izzy and whispered, "Save me!" before walking back to his throne.

"Matt, what did you tell them?" Creighton yelled out as the natives carried him and Izzy away again. He continued shouting out at Matt for an explanation that would not come. He finally gave up after a while, and the natives carried them off to a large canyon. The leader gave some orders, and the two watched as a large cage was lifted up, containing several of Matt's crew in them. The cage was opened, the two were cut from their ties, and then they were both tossed into the cage which was then let down gently back into the canyon again alongside another cage with some other crewmen inside of it.

"Well now what?" Creighton said as he stood up on the oddly discolored bars of this peculiarly cracky cage. Izzy looked over and saw Willaby.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

"I should think that much is obvious at the moment," Willaby replied. "We're stuck in these cages until they get around to eating us."

"These people are cannibals?!" Creighton yelped.

Izzy then said, "But if Matt's their chief-"

"Aye, he be their chief," Willaby interrupted, "but he's only their chief so long as he acts like a chief. From what little I've learned of these natives, it seems that their belief is Matt is a god in human form, and they plan on releasing him from his fleshy prison."

Creighton made a gagging noise and sat down on the bottom of the cage. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he moaned. Izzy looked back at Willaby and asked, "And what happened to the rest of the crew that was on that ship?"

"These cages we're in? They weren't made until _after_ we got here," Willaby replied, and Creighton suddenly puked out of the side of the cage.

"Try not to get it all over us!" one of the other crewmen said, backing away from Creighton.

"They'll roast him and eat him," Willaby continued. "Matt's life will end when the drums stop."

Izzy listened and heard the sound of the beating drums again. She looked around the cage and finally said, "Well we shouldn't just stand here doing nothing then."

She took a good grasp of the side of the cage and leaned back and forth, to and fro. Willaby caught on and followed suit, mimicking Izzy's movements, and sure enough the cage began to rock back and forth itself. The other crewmen began to follow suit, and the cage swung even more. The other crewmen in the other cage noticed this and began working on their own cage. Creighton remained motionless for a bit, the movement not seeming to help his gut.

"Come on, Creighton, you want to get out of here, right?" Izzy ordered at him, and this seemed to prompt Creighton to stand and join in the swinging of the cage. Eventually the momentum began to increase, and the movement the captives were performing began to swing from one end of the cage to the other, forcing the cages to swing vastly from one side of the canyon to the other.

"Reach out for the vines on the other side of the canyon!" Izzy shouted as they got closer to the walls. The swinging cages were now almost hitting the sides, and after several attempts to reach for the vines, the crewmen finally managed to snag onto the vines on the side.

"Put your legs through and start to climb!" Willaby shouted out, prompting the other crewmen to do so, and soon enough both cages were steadily walking up the side of the cliff up to the top.

"We're going to need everyone if we're going to crew the _Poseidon_," Izzy exclaimed.

"Actually, you wouldn't need everyone," one of the crew members from the other cage called out. "About six will do."

Then everyone suddenly stopped. They listened for the sound of the drums, but what they had all feared was true: the drums had stopped.

"Ohhhh dear..."

"Move!" Izzy shouted, and the pace of the cages began to quicken as both tried to scale the cliff in order to reach the top. Meanwhile on a nearby bridge, one of the natives began walking across. Izzy saw the native out of the corner of her eye and whispered loudly, "Stop moving!"

The others ceased their movement quickly and hushed each other as the guard continued across the bridge. Only a few seconds passed before one of the crew members in the other cage signaled quietly to sneak up the wall.

"What are you doing!" Izzy whispered sternly, with Willaby, Creighton, and some of the others also whispering to stop the other crewmen. And then-

"SNAKE!"

One of the crew members had grabbed onto a snake while climbing, and everyone in the cage suddenly let go of the wall. This caused the cage to go hurtling down back to where it was, only to have the rope snap and cause the cage and everyone in it to go hurtling, screaming down into the misty depths of the canyon below. The guard noticed this, and Izzy shouted out, "MOVE!"

The guard hustled away as Izzy and the others began to climb up the wall again.

* * *

Matt watched in detest as more of the natives continued to build the fire to roast him alive higher and higher. It's hard to watch your captors preparing for your death, but at the same time they made him their chief. It couldn't be that bad, right? But then again, this was being cooked to be eaten.

"Oi!" Matt called out and stood up from his throne. He spoke out to the natives and waved his arms. "Big fire, big fire! I'm chief! Want big fire!"

The natives weren't sure of these words, but Matt managed to speak to them in such a way that they understood. Matt looked over at the two guards by his throne and indicated to them to help out the others in gathering wood onto the pile. As the natives went off to gather wood, Matt simply smiled and then took advantage of their ignorance to his presence.

And he ran for his life.

Matt ran across the nearest bridge he could and ended up running right into the main village. Fortunately the village was empty, undoubtedly with all of its residents gathering firewood. Matt went over to the nearby edge and looked down. There was no way he was going to be able to climb down that steep cliff, especially given that there were only very small footholds. If he weren't in danger for his life, he would be impressed that the ancestors of these natives managed to scale these cliffs to reach the summit of the island's mountains.

He looked around the village and entered into one of the huts. Surely there was some kind of rope in this village to help him get down. After all, the natives were using rope when they tied up Creighton and Izzy, as well as hang the cages over the canyon. How hard could it be to locate some in one of these huts?

Matt looked around the hut he'd entered to find a variety of vile implements that undoubtedly helped the natives in devouring their unfortunate victims. Rather than focusing on the gruesomeness these devices helped to achieve, he checked for the rope that could secure his freedom, finding a nice lengthy cord near a curious tin canister. He picked up the canister and examined it, noting the label "Paprika" on the side of it. When he turned to look at the bottom, he found that imprinted on it was a black and curvy M, the mark of the Montalban Corporation. He looked with bewilderment on this mark as he exited the hut, but when he looked up again-

"Oh."

Matt found himself staring back at a hundred hungry pairs of eyes, all of which had finally noticed Matt's disappearance and sought him out with great concern and desire. And here Matt was carrying a large coil of rope and a small tin can, clearly not with the intention of seasoning himself for the feast. Matt smiled as though to comfort the natives and tossed the rope aside, popped off the top of the paprika canister, and started applying it to his armpits.

"Little seasoning, eh?" he said. The natives were not impressed, and they quickly overpowered Matt and tied him up to another pole. They then carried him back all the way to the pyre and continued to build it some before placing him over the woodpile. Matt did take note of the large amount of wood they had gathered.

"Well done," he said, more to himself than the natives who couldn't understand him.

Finally, one of the natives came by with a lit torch and raised it above his head, calling out a chant to the other natives who responded in kind. Matt was fairly worried at this point, as if he wasn't able to get away soon, he was going to be...well...

Suddenly, a native guard came by and began shouting out to the others, pointing in the direction where Matt had seen them take Creighton and Izzy and Willaby and all of his crew. The natives listened to this guard as he gestured climbing up a wall and trying to escape from behind bars, probably to signify that the others were attempting to escape. The guard finally finished his explanation, and the natives turned to look at Matt.

"Well go on, go get them!" Matt called out, and he gave them a command he remembered was in their language. The natives took up this command as another chant and ran off. The torch bearer dropped his torch dangerously close to the pyre as he ran off with the other natives who were charging off towards the prisoners. Matt noticed the flames and quickly started to blow the flames in an attempt to keep them away from the wood.

Unfortunately, some of the cinders blew over into the wood, and as Matt blew on them, they sparked up and caught the wood on fire, accelerating the process. Matt saw this and moaned a little, knowing that if the fire spread any further it would burn the pyre and him as a result. He squirmed around and started bouncing around.

And that's when he realized that the pole was bouncing too. It was almost bouncing off the poles. Matt then started shaking around in such a way as to bounce the pole up and down off the poles. Eventually, the bouncing surpassed the top of the poles, and Matt fell down on the ground next to the pyre. Now that he wasn't in any danger of the fire, he had to worm his way out of the ropes tying him to the pole and escape before the natives came back.

Matt wriggled around and managed to free up his legs, but the rest of his body remained very well tied up to the pole. He worked his way up to his feet but found himself hunched over due to the pole attached to him. But now he could move around the village! He hustled wobbly back to the huts and looked around for something sharp to possibly cut through the ropes with.

He picked up a rather jagged rock and was about to attempt cutting through the ropes when he noticed another native standing nearby, a fork and knife brandished in his hands. The native tilted his head to the side, and Matt hustled over and snagged the knife from him. With no knife in hand, the native ran off, probably to get another knife from one of the huts. Or worse, tell the other natives Matt was trying to escape again.

Matt began to cut through the ropes again but then saw two more natives, women carrying baskets of fruit. They glared angrily at him, as though he had done some terrible misdeed by their hand. A stare down between the two women and Matt commenced for a brief interval before Matt charged maddeningly and with a loud cry at the women. Or it appeared that way, as he passed by them and aimed the pole down and into a pile of coconuts situated against a stone wall.

PLUNK!

The end of the pole was fashioned well enough to pierce through the hull of the coconut, fixing it onto the end of the pole. Matt noted this and looked beyond the wall as best he could to see the edge across the ravine. It was fairly close, a well-aimed and well-timed pole vault across the ravine would allow him to reach the other side unharmed! But first he would have to take care of these coconuts.

He swung himself around and hurled the coconut off of the pole. The coconut soared through the air at an incredibly high speed, but then it stopped against a pair of hands that clenched it, spraying its milk into the face of one angry native woman.

And she was very, very angry.

* * *

"Finally, we made it!"

"Quick, find a rock and cut it loose!"

Creighton, Izzy, Willaby, and the others inside the cage sought out from the surrounding rocks ones that were sharp enough to hack their way through the rope that was still attached to the cage. Quickly the rope was severed, the cage no longer bound to it.

"Uh-oh, we've got company!" Creighton called out, pointing towards the bridge. The others looked up and saw a large group of natives starting to cross the bridge towards them.

"Roll the cage!" Izzy shouted, prompting everyone to push the cage and start rolling it across the ground for a short distance. Short in that they found they had started to roll the cage down a very steep slope.

"Oh no, not the spinning," Creighton said, but it was far too late for that. As the natives pursued them, the cage began to pick up speed, and soon it was rolling down hill at a very high velocity! The group began screaming as the cage rolled down past trees and rocks, throwing them about inside the cage as it tumbled across the jungle landscape.

"Somebody stop this thing!" Creighton called out, and it seemed some higher power heard his call, as the cage then rolled up a pair of trees. This forced the cage to slow down and roll back down to the ground in front of the trees. The crew landed at the bottom of the cage, piled up and moaning.

"Well that wasn't fun," Willaby said, turning over in the cage.

"I think I'm gonna be sick again," Creighton moaned wearily, prompting everyone around him to get up all the faster.

"We're not out of this mess yet," Izzy said. "Come on, lift the cage!"

The crew then slipped through the holes in the cage and lifted it up, much to Creighton's discomfort due to his height. The crew then began running off into the jungle again, but they only got so far when they all fell into a large crevice. The cage plummeted into the ravine along with the crew inside, breaking apart in the waters below. Everyone came up from the waters, glad to be out of the cage.

"Quickly, over here!" Izzy yelled out, signaling for the others to follow her behind a rock shelf. They began to swim over to her as the cliffside began to swarm with natives again. The natives fired off rounds of darts and arrows at the crew as they swam away to protect themselves, avoiding all of what they could. Eventually, the crew managed to get behind the rock and duck down to avoid the oncoming onslaught.

Then suddenly the arrows and darts stopped. Izzy put a finger to her lips to tell the others to be quiet as she listened in. It sounded like one of the natives was speaking urgently to the others. Did something happen elsewhere? Izzy poked her head out around the corner and saw the natives looking over at one brandishing a fork. The native gestured back from where they had come from, probably towards the village.

The village where Matt was.

After the fork-wielding native was done, the entire tribe hustled away from the cliffside, and everything was quiet again.

"Come on," Izzy whispered to the others, "let's get to the ship."

* * *

"STOP IT!"

The native women paused, fruit gripped tightly in their hands, baskets on the ground. It was quite a spectacle to see so much fruit tossed about so willy-nilly, and Matt had been in the center of it all. Mangoes, melons, and all manner of fruity goodness was thrown about for a good few minutes until Matt finally shouted out the order. The timing was probably for the best, as several pieces of fruit had slid down onto the pole as they were being thrown about.

With the advantage of the women's pause on his side, Matt charged again at the stone wall, planting the pole and somersaulting across the ravine with no coconuts to block his progress. And sure enough, he managed to plant his feet on the other side. For a minute, Matt was widely impressed with himself. Perhaps all that gymnastics training in his younger years did pay off, even if he had never before pole-vaulted in his life. Come to think of it, how did he-

THUNK

Matt noted the noise and realized that he was slightly off balance. He looked down and saw that some of the fruit on the pole was slipping to the end. Looking back up, the fruit that was on the other end began to slip down in the same direction. Knowing there was a giant cliff behind him wasn't comforting at all, and the fruit throwing him off balance wasn't helping. Matt struggled to maintain his balance on the cliffside, but with the combination of his being tied up to the pole and the effect of gravity on the fruit on the pole, he lost it and tumbled down the cliff.

He plummeted for a good while before suddenly the pole ends caught onto the sides of the ever-narrowing cliff. The forces broke him free from the somewhat frayed ropes but only after spinning him round and round. For a few moments, he twirled about in the hair, unraveling the rope's grip on him. Finally reaching the end, he began to fall downward again before his foot got snagged by a convenient loop in the rope. And so he ended up hanging for a moment upside-down and several hundred feet from the ground still. The native women looked down over the cliffside before dismissing Matt and going about their business.

Fortunately, Matt was going to be out of this predicament sooner than he'd expect. Unfortunately, this meant the pole was about to come loose from its grip on the cliff sides. Matt watched as the poly slowly succumbed to his own weight and began to slide on the cliff.

"Oh, that can't be good..."

And then it let go, causing Matt to tumble down deeper into the canyon. The pole followed behind, its fruit still firmly attached to it. And then Matt crashed through something - a bridge? It appeared the natives built bridges across parts of this canyon to walk back and forth. If Matt wasn't plummeting to his perhaps untimely and possible death, he might actually inspect some of these bridges and see where they lead, maybe even to the answer of how the natives scaled these cliffs in the first place.

Of course, this wasn't to be the last bridge Matt would crash through, as he quickly discovered by plummeting through yet another and another. The pole meanwhile had skewered through another bridge and lost all of its fruit while slipping by freely itself. It was now Matt, the rope, the pole attached to the rope, and several pieces of skewered fruit that were now raining down on the bridges with no control.

And then finally Matt landed on the ground with a magnificent THUD! The impact with the ground was...surprisingly softer than he imagined it would be after falling so high. Maybe the bridges slowed him down a little? Or maybe the earth was softer here or some reason. Needless to say, he wasn't going to be moving for a while, not even to possibly avoid that pole coming right at him.

"Uh-oh."

THUNK

* * *

"Haul loose the mooring line! The _mooring_ line!"

"Which line is that supposed to be?"

"It's the _mooring _line, the rope tied up to that boulder over there!"

A quick hustle and bustle of the crew, and the _Poseidon_ was finally hitting the water again. They moved ropes, tied knots, untied knots, opened sails, pushed hard, and everything was now in place to get the ship off this godforsaken island.

"Come on, step lively! We leave immediately!" Willaby shouted out.

"Wait, what about Matt? We can't leave without him!" Creighton called back.

"Oi!"

Everyone to look out over the beach and saw Matt scampering across the beach. The group smiled and were about to cheer when they realized why Matt was running: the natives had finally caught up with him.

"Time to go," Creighton said.

"Cast off and set sail!" Willaby shouted, prompting an even quicker movement on board the ship to get them out of here. Matt ran as fast as he could across the beach towards the _Poseidon_, the natives in hot pursuit. The ship finally managed to hit the water, and Matt managed to grab hold of one of the ropes. And before the natives could get to him, Matt and the _Poseidon_ were off to sea at last.

"Alas, my children," Matt called back, "this is the day that you'll always remember as the day you almo-"

SPLASH

A giant wave crashed into Matt, interrupting his somewhat brief speech. He muttered, "Captain Matt Zero," and climbed on board the ship at last, with the welcome of his surviving crew members.

"How many do we have on board?" Matt asked Willaby.

"By my count, fourteen," Willaby answered, "including these two."

He pointed out Creighton and Izzy, and Matt smiled and hugged them.

"I'm infinitely gladder to see the two of you safe and sound," Matt said releasing them from the hug. "I trust that you'll be able to haul your own load onboard this vessel."

"Matt," Izzy said, "we have to save Shannon."

"She'll be alright where she is," Matt responded as he turned around and headed off towards his cabin. "Better to not get caught up in all of this nonsense."

"She's not going to be alright if she's imprisoned by Montalban!" Creighton yelled out, halting Matt's progress to his quarters. "We've got to at least do something to help her!"

"And what exactly would you propose we do about that?" Matt asked, turning to face Creighton. "We just charge in and break her out? I'm sure there are far more subtler and less risky maneuvers than that which we may use."

"And what's your grand scheme then?" Creighton challenged. "Run away and hope we find an answer somewhere else? Where do you think you can go?!"

A long pause pervaded the air as the crew looked on at this argument. Matt stared down at Creighton, his hot-headed little friend staring right back at him. He may have had a point, but that didn't mean he was aware of it all. Matt smiled and turned to Willaby.

"Willaby, we seem to have a need to go upriver," he called out.

Willaby looked back, spooked by this remark. "By a need you mean a trifling need, a fleeting need say like a passing fancy?" he asked hesitantly.

"Hmm, no, more like a resolute and unyielding need," Matt responded immediately, turning back to head into his quarters.

"Matt if you've no mind to save Shannon, then duel me so I can win her freedom from you!" Creighton yelled out.

"Believe me, Creighton," Matt said as he closed the cabin doors, "I've got all the mind in the world to save her."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

See? I try to make it work! It's gotta make sense in some context! *er-hem*

Montalban reprises the role of rich bastard that Cutler Beckett holds in the Pirates movies...is the simplistic way of putting it. The more elaborate and developed Montalban character description is to say that he's a ruthless megalomaniac hellbent on taking over the modern-day world by assimilating all other companies into his own company, the Montalban International Alliance of Corporations (MontalbanCorp for short). Most of Montalban's ambitions are outlined within Chapter 23, and these play into Montalban's character through such attributes as overwhelming pride and a cocky attitude. His design is based off of the Marquis de la Montalban (whose name he has reprised as well) from Sid Meier's Pirates!, a game that both my brother and I enjoyed around the time of his inclusion into the story arc. Now is the Trinity Montalban a Spanish nobleman? Well, I wouldn't say he's Spanish, but he's loaded enough to be a king and determined enough to take over the world.

Next time: Matt Zero, his brother, and his friends


	26. Auntie Margareta

Chapter 26: Auntie Margareta

The _Poseidon_ sailed for nearly a month before it finally reached its destination, a small river opening leading inland. The entire time the ship kept nearer the shallow waters, avoiding the open ocean as much as possible. Creighton continued to pester Matt for a duel in order to turn the ship around and go rescue Shannon, but Matt ignored his insistent advances time and time again. Eventually Izzy had to reason with Creighton that whatever Matt was planning was in Shannon's best interest, and with much griping, Creighton finally settled down and began working with the ship.

The ship now stood anchored a few yards away from the river opening, and Matt instructed that a couple of lifeboats would need to be used to get further inland, as the waters were far too shallow for the ship itself. A small group stayed behind to keep an eye on the ship and to watch out for Montalban's forces. It was going to be about a two-hour long journey inland before they reached their final destination, according to Matt, which meant the ship would need to be watched in the meantime for at least five hours.

"Keep a weather eye on the horizon, now," Matt instructed as he and a few others boarded one of the lifeboats. Creighton and Izzy boarded the other lifeboat along with Willaby and a couple of others, and soon enough the two sailed up the river. The river was calm in the midst of a tropical rainforest, giving rise to a large number of mosquitoes around the crew. Humorously, one of the few modern luxuries Matt took onboard was a large supply of bug repellent for just such an occasion, thus keeping the crew unbitten.

Creighton waved away at another pack of mosquitoes that wanted to feast upon him, the repellent being the one thing preventing them from doing so. He looked over at Willaby and asked, "How come we have to sail through these parts?"

"We're visiting an old friend of Matt's," Willaby explained, "one who he's known for a long time. Undoubtedly he's going there to figure out a way to solve his little dilemma."

"What, with Montalban?" Creighton asked.

"I don't think so," Willaby answered. "I've heard it be something much worse than that."

"Is the dilemma what keeps him from sailing out in open waters?" Izzy asked.

"Aye, that be the case," Willaby replied. "I don't know much about it myself, but I doubt it has anything to do with Montalban."

"Then who or what does it have to do with?" Creighton interjected.

"Like I said, I don't know much," Willaby replied, "but I have a hunch that it's got something to do with him."

"Him?" Izzy asked.

"A man...or maybe not even a man anymore, more of a demon," Willaby said. "Heard he goes by the name of Adolf Rommel."

"That must be the other guy he mentioned in his letter back on Titan Island," Creighton said, swatting away at more insects.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Willaby said. "Of all the people in this world to be afraid of, Adolf Rommel is the only one Matt fears most."

"Why is he afraid of him?" Izzy asked.

"Well, if you believe such things..." Willaby looked over at the other crew members who looked back at him with a certain fear in their eyes. Willaby turned back to Creighton and Izzy and continued, "There's a behemoth that works under Rommel's command, a beast so terrifying that man and beast alike tremble at the very mention of it: the Dark Leviathan."

All at once, the mosquitoes dissipated, and a howl of pain could be heard far off in the rainforest. The crew all felt a shiver down their spines as a chilled breeze swept across the river briefly for but an instant. Creighton and Izzy looked at each other as all of these things occurred.

"They say it's of a gargantuan size, able to swallow an entire fleet of ships in its open mouth," Willaby continued. "It has limbs as thick as oak trees and strong enough to crush metal like it was paper. Its heads - two of em - are able to breathe a fire so hot that even the toughest diamonds melt away. And the tentacles..."

Willaby shivered for a moment at the mention of this, giving Creighton and Izzy a great deal of concern. "Just imagine," Willaby continued, "the last thing you see in this world is thousands of tentacles ripping your ship apart and being devoured by a cavernous maw within reeks the stench of thousands of corpses."

At that moment, Creighton leaned over the side of the ship and vomited again. A couple of other crew members also puked over the sides at the thought of this image and of Creighton puking himself. Willaby turned to look around at everyone and shook his head.

"If you believe such things," he said, and he turned back to Izzy and Creighton, who wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he came up again.

"So Matt's a bit desperate..." Izzy said.

"Aye, desperate enough to even visit...her..." Willaby responded.

"And her is?" Creighton asked aloud.

"We're here!"

The call from Matt came up as the boats arrived at a small shack built on stilts over the water. Various candles were lit up around the shack, providing light in the darkening evening light. The boats drifted over to and were tied up at the makeshift dock by the shack, their occupants taking care to dismount them with care. Matt was the first up the small staircase leading up to the shack's porch, followed closely by Willaby, Creighton, Izzy, and a couple of other crew members; the remaining number stayed behind to watch the boats.

"Don't worry, this shouldn't take too long," Matt said, opening the doorway into the shack.

On the inside was a large number of strange and unusual objects. Jars filled with all kinds of things were scattered about the room, candles hung from the ceiling, and dust was scattered about the rotting wood. A large round wooden table occupied a part of the shack, surrounded by wooden chairs and covered with old pieces of parchment with a variety of unusual symbols written on them.

"What is this place?" Creighton asked aloud.

"Ahhh, me child of destiny!"

A quick look towards the voice, and everyone saw as a rather buxom women squeezed Matt in a bear hug. She was much larger than a normal person would be, her head nearly reaching the top of the small cabin, her limbs almost as thick around as Matt's head.

"Auntie, please!" Matt called out in a muffled voice beneath the girth of her arms, his head covered up by them in the midst of the hug.

"Did he just call her Auntie?!" Creighton asked alarmed. Izzy noted this too, but she found it rather curious. The woman before them now didn't resemble any relative of Matt's at all.

"Oh, that's just a name, hunny," the woman said, finally releasing Matt from her grasp. Matt brushed himself off and readjusted himself before addressing the crew there.

"For those of you unacquainted, this is Auntie Margareta," Matt introduced. "Resident mystic of the swamp, and expert in the occult."

"Tis me pleasure," Margareta said, curtsying in her dress to the others. Then she turned her attention back onto Matt and asked, "I take it you've come to consult on my wisdom once again, no?"

"You can read me look a book," Matt replied.

"Come come, then," Margareta said, waving her hand, "sit around the table, and I'll get you all some stew."

She disappeared into a doorway not far from the table as the group sat around the table. Izzy took an interest in the parchment, noting that the symbols were of various runes from a variety of cultures. It was impressive to see so much knowledge gathered around a single table. She took up to reading while Creighton waited eagerly for the stew Margareta had promised.

She came back through the doorway a few minutes later carrying a large steaming pot and was chanting a quick phrase, causing a few wooden bowls to float in from behind her and set themselves up with some decorative wooden spoons in front of each one there. She then changed her chant, and the stew floated out of the pot and poured itself into each of the bowls evenly, giving each person there an equal portion of the stew. A large loaf of bread then floated out from the doorway and placed itself in front of each person.

"Well go on," Margareta said after she was finished. It didn't take much more prompting, especially for Creighton who immediately grabbed the spoon and began shoveling the stew into his mouth. This was a bit of a mistake, as the stew was still very hot, causing Creighton to choke on it a bit.

"Oh no, hunny," Margareta fretted, bringing out a small round object and tossing it to Creighton. "Quick now, swallow that down."

Creighton complied immediately, not even taking the time to note what the object was before swallowing it whole. The effects became apparent almost simultaneously, as Creighton realized that the burning sensation ceased immediately. He breathed a sigh of relief, and a foggy cold breath escaped his mouth.

"Wow! That's some powerful stuff!" Creighton said, astonished with what had happened so quickly.

"Eye of newt is hard to come by," Margareta said, "but it's very useful for this sort of thing."

Creighton's smile very quickly vanished as he realized what it was he had just swallowed, and he began to feel nauseous again when suddenly the feeling dissipated as quickly as the burning sensation. His nausea quickly turned into confusion.

"Even the pesky nausea don't stand well against the newt's eye," Margareta explained, a devilish smile on her face. Creighton smiled again and began to work on the stew again.

Margareta then turned to Matt and said, "So last I heard, you were tracking down the _Black Pearl_ in hopes of finding its secret."

"Did and done with that," Matt said, smiling as he laid down his compass medallion down on the table. Margareta's eyes grew wide as she inspected the medallion with a girlish appeal.

"You did and done," she said as she handed the medallion back to Matt. "So then you are not here to find something then?"

"Actually, that's pretty much why we're here," Matt said, bringing out a small piece of parchment and laying it in front of her. Margareta looked down at the parchment and saw the drawing of the key. Matt continued, "I'm looking for this key and the chest into which it goes."

Margareta looked up at him with some concern. "And the compass medallion cannot lead you to it?" she asked.

"It's been...troublesome," Matt answered.

Margareta then smiled knowingly at him and said, "You don't know what you want, do you?"

Matt didn't say much. At that moment, Izzy asked, "So you know what the key goes to?"

Margareta chuckled. "I know where it goes," she replied. "I know Matt Zero's desires, they are far easier to read than his future ever was. He be seeking that chest which holds the prize of Rommel."

Everyone looked over at Matt at that moment, who noted all of this and ate a small bit of his loaf of bread.

"So Rommel put something in that chest?" Izzy pressed.

Margareta smiled and asked, "Do you not know of the legend of the man known as Adolf Rommel?"

Most everyone shook their heads at the question. Margareta looked over at Matt and shook her head.

"You should have mentioned the tale to them at least," she said disapprovingly. Matt swallowed the bread in his throat and said, "I was going to get around to it at some point."

Margareta looked back at the others and began to tell the tale:

"Long ago in the land of the Tigris and Euphrates, there lived a mighty king who ruled over its citizens with a code of justice. This code was the law of the land, and those who disobeyed found themselves under its wrath. Against the king formed a secret alliance amongst the citizens headed by three strong families, who sought to free the people of the king's code, for they did not see freedom within the code's justice. They created six powerful monsters known as the Spirit Dragons to aid in their battle against the king, but it was not the king who would become their greatest enemy.

"The man who would become Adolf Rommel stood against them, seeking to eliminate the newly-formed alliance and take control of the Spirit Dragons. Over the years, they battled against each other, and many a time Rommel was close to taking their power away. But he never could grasp the power of the Spirit Dragons, and the alliance known as the Trinity always slipped away into the shadows.

"Now Rommel was a persistent man. He would not give up the conquest even as the kingdom crumbled away into nothingness. Roaming the seas in search of the Trinity as they scattered themselves across the world, Rommel learned of a darker path that would grant him great power and immortality. And he took that path, giving him control of his ship, the _Gladius Divinum._"

"The divine sword," Izzy murmured.

"An appropriate name for a man who believed in divine rule, wouldn't you say?" Margareta said before continuing with her story:

"Over time, Rommel would continue to fight against the Trinity, eventually using his own dark power to form his own alliance, the Four Crosses Cult. He waged war on the Trinity with the Cult but failed each and every time. Eventually his hatred towards the Trinity became so great he sacrificed the souls of every member in his alliance to create his ultimate creature, the Dark Leviathan. With the destruction of his own organization came the rise of his greatest weapon, and he used the Dark Leviathan's power and nearly defeated the Trinity as he had intended.

"But there was a greater power that the Spirit Dragons possessed, and with that power they overcame the Dark Leviathan's rampage and defeated Rommel once again. The Trinity then began to fear the loss of their newfound power, for if they did Rommel would surely decimate them with his Leviathan. Eventually they settled on a method to prevent the Spirit Dragons from falling into the wrong hands, and so they divided the Spirit Dragons and sealed them from the rest of the world, hoping to stop Rommel from taking control of them or worse destroying them forever.

"Rommel continued to sail the seas in search of the Trinity, cursed by his own darkness to wander those waters forever. Never again would he be able to set foot on land, and through that weakness the Trinity have managed to protect the Spirit Dragons from him. But as the eons have passed, both sides have gotten stronger, and Rommel's hatred has only grown."

"You said that Rommel had a chest though," Izzy inquired. "What about the chest?"

"Inside the chest of Rommel, he keeps the one thing that maintains his immortality," Margareta explained. "In order to gain immortality, he sacrificed his heart and sealed it inside the chest to lock up for eternity, that he may protect himself from the Trinity just as the Trinity locked the Spirit Dragons to protect themselves from Rommel."

"Wait, you mean he actually put his heart in a chest?!" Creighton yelped.

"He can't do that, can he?" Willaby asked.

"Rommel studied the dark magics over the globe," Margareta said with a smile. "You wouldn't think he'd find some means to keep himself alive without a sacrifice, do you?"

"So then the chest contains the heart of Rommel which keeps him alive to hunt down the Trinity..."

Izzy stood up and looked over at Matt. "You knew about this and didn't tell us?" she asked.

"I did not, I didn't know what was in that chest," Matt retorted, "but now we do! So now all that's left to do is climb aboard the _Gladius Divinum_, grab the key, and go on to save everyone involved!"

"You want us to just walk up to Rommel and ask for the key?!" Creighton asked back.

"I dunno about asking for it, but it couldn't hurt," Matt replied.

"Let me see your hand."

Matt halted his progress towards the exit and slowly turned back to Margareta, whose hand was outstretched as she made her stern request. Reluctantly Matt held out his hand to her, all bandaged up as though he had suffered a severe injury. Margareta gently unwrapped the bandages from his hand, revealing the four overlapping crosses with the skull in the center.

"The Mark of Rommel!" Willaby yelped, immediately going into a goofy routine exercise involving rubbing himself, spinning around, spitting, biting his thumbs, hopping around on one foot, and all manner of bizarre actions. The others were fairly confused with this odd display. Creighton even tried mimicking it for a bit before falling over onto the ground.

"Just to let you know, my eyesight's as good as ever," Matt threw out.

Margareta turned and went back into her kitchen, rummaging around loudly for something. The others looked over curiously to the kitchen entrance, listening in on Margareta's search until finally she walked back through the doorway.

"As I said, Rommel is cursed to abandon making his way onto land," Margareta explained as she carried a large jar over to Matt. "With that in mind, you must carry land with you."

Matt gave the jar a peculiar skeptical look as he reached out for it. Everyone looked at the jar, its contents clear to them through its glass sides.

"...dirt," he said. "...this is a jar of dirt."

"Yes?"

"And the jar of dirt is supposed to help?"

"If you don't want it, give it back."

"No!"

"Then it will help."

"And what of the _Gladius Divinum_?" Izzy asked.

Margareta smiled as she brought out a small number of ritualistic items to utilize, consisting of various magical oddities and commonly found pieces of miscellaneous junk. She conjured up a world map as well, presumably to help out with her directions.

"Where to find a ship that's lost, or lose a ship that once was found," Margareta chanted as she circled the map, "find the area where ships go lost, that the ship you seek might be found."

She sprawled out the various items onto the map, and they circled themselves about a small area of the map. The others looked down at the map to see what area was now in the midst of so many strange peculiarities.

"The Bermuda Triangle," Matt said.

"But that's on the other side of the world from us!" Creighton remarked. "How are we supposed to get all the way from here to there?"

Margareta then picked up a small pouch from nearby and poured some of the contents onto her hand, revealing it to be ashes.

"A touch of destiny," she said, blowing the ashes over the group, blinding them and obscuring the entirety of the hut from their vision.

When they opened their eyes, they were all back on Matt's ship, but looking around they noticed the sun was rising up above them.

"We couldn't be..."

Izzy brought out a small phone out and began rapidly punching the keys. She soon discovered the answer to her unasked question, the question on everyone's minds.

"We're just off the coast of Florida," she confirmed. "We've traveled to the other side of the world."

* * *

Shannon looked up at the ceiling of her prison and sighed deeply. She didn't want to be left behind while Creighton and Izzy were released, but then there was whatever Montalban wanted them to do that had to be considered. Undoubtedly it involved Matt, and there was simply no way she would have done such a task anyway. Her resolve would have landed her back in this jail, and even though Creighton and Izzy were set out on such a task, she knew they would at least work well together to do what they could. Creighton might try to get Matt to help them out, but Izzy would at least keep a cool head.

"Dinner's on!"

Shannon got up from the bed she was lying on. The prison conditions were very accommodating; if one wasn't aware of it, they would think that the cells were more like miniature condos. Each one was well-furnished with a nice clean bed, a small armchair, and a bathroom to give the inmates some privacy. Of course, the bars were still just beyond the front door that lead into each cell, the one true reminder that they were imprisoned.

Shannon walked over to this door and opened it up to allow the guard to come into the room. The guard brought in with him a large cart and tray with a gorgeous meal on it. That was another good thing about being trapped in here, the food wasn't terrible. The guard rolled the trolley in and bowed before Shannon.

"You wouldn't mind if I enjoyed your fair company, would you?" the guard asked. Shannon scoffed. How brazen of this guard to be so forward with her.

"I don't think I would," she said, turning her head away.

"Are you sure?" the guard asked. "After all..."

The guard reached into his pocket and brought out a curious notepad and pen. He began to write something down as he said, "I bet you would want to take a nice walk outside of the complex for a while."

He held up the notepad, and Shannon looked over at it. "It's me, Andrew," was what was scrawled out onto the pad. Shannon's eyes widened, and she began to slyly walk over to the door while saying, "Perhaps a walk would be nice after dinner."

The door now shut, Shannon turned back as Andrew took off some of the guard costume. "What are you doing in here?!" she asked him.

"And a good evening to you too," he replied. "Maybe you'd like to talk about some stuff over the course of a nice meal? Courtesy of his majestic lord Montalban."

Shannon looked down at the tray of food and noted a particularly delicious array. Andrew didn't hesitate to go after the tray of food himself and started eating away. Shannon took a seat on the bed and began to eat some food herself.

"Doesn't this stuff taste all the better knowing we're eating it at Montalban's expense?" Andrew smiled cheerfully, a slice of cheese in hand. Shannon smiled at his enthusiasm and nibbled on a slice of bread.

"So what's the word?" she asked.

"Well, Creighton and Izzy have met up with Matt, but they don't know exactly where they all plan on going," Andrew answered, munching down on a slice of meat. "At the very least, we oughta be able to move forward with the plan. I've already found a good ship to take us where we need to go, wherever that would be."

"And getting me out of here?" Shannon continued.

"Simple as pie!" Andrew replied, reaching for the cloth and picking up a fork. "Oh hey, pie!"

He lifted up the cloth covering the trolley, revealing a large empty space underneath. Shannon inspected it for a moment as Andrew smiled and munched on some of the pie.

"Your chariot awaits!"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I should probably note that the excerpt with Shannon occurs not long after the events in the previous chapter. Timeline shenanigans can get very screwy if done incorrectly, and I want to go ahead and make that clear before they come up later on. I may even arrange a timeline in one of these ANs to help clarify any misunderstanding.

It should really come as no surprise that Matt Zero and his brother, Andrew, are the storyline versions of my brother and I. Now most people would call that sort of thing an "author insert", but as I write the story, I find they've evolved a bit into what I think of as "alternate versions" of the two of us. Their personalities are based mostly on their real-life counterparts, as are their physical descriptions, but then there are those moments in which they do things that go beyond what my brother and I have done. We've never sailed anything as large as the _Poseidon,_ and we've never broken people out of jail. In a way, the characters do things that are more than just "author inserts", and I'd like to think that that gives them more power than what an "author insert" would have.

Now Matt's friends - Creighton, Izzy, and Shannon - are all in some form or another based around people who are or were at some point my brother's friends. Now seeing as I never really met either Izzy or Shannon (Creighton I actually knew from the same place my brother knew him from), I've had to take some liberties based on how I remember my brother reenacted them in our play throughs, as well as what he wanted their deck themes to be based around. Creighton's original theme was "Offensive War," Izzy's was "Series," and Shannon's was "Community." Of these themes, I think Shannon's has changed the most while Izzy's has remained static, but I think you'll understand when you see their decks for real.

Next time: the mysterious Adolf Rommel


	27. The Gladius Divinum

Chapter 27: The Gladius Divinum

"That's the _Gladius Divinum_?"

"She doesn't look like much."

"Neither do you. Do _not_ underestimate her."

Matt, Creighton, and Izzy were all standing on the side of the ship, looking out through the wind and rain towards a wrecked ship. They had found this ship in the midst of the Bermuda Triangle, as indicated somehow on a map that Auntie Margareta had placed in Matt's quarters. It appeared to be very old and heavily damaged, having been split right down the middle. Clearly this ship, whether it was in fact the _Gladius Divinum_ or not, was hardly a threat to them.

"Well, since the two of you have been so keen on getting your hands on my Compass Medallion," Matt said, "I think it's only fair you grab me the key."

"So you want us to board the ship and take the key?" Creighton asked.

"That's about it," Matt replied.

"I suppose that the general idea, then, is if we should run into anyone, we take them out?" Izzy asked incredulously.

"I like that," Matt said. "Simple, easy to remember!"

"Your chariot awaits!" mocked one of the crew members from a nearby lifeboat. Creighton and Izzy turned to look over at the dingy, a crudely constructed boat that no sane person would use even if their life depended on it. They looked at each other with concern before looking back at Matt.

"Well come on, then, we haven't got all night," he said, scooting the two along over to the boat and shoving them into it before quickly retreating back onto a safe part of the ship. The other crew members lowered the boat into the water and had it cast off from the ship towards the wreckage. With no other choice, Creighton and Izzy each grabbed an oar on the boat and began rowing it towards the _Gladius Divinum_.

"Oi! And if you do run into trouble, just tell them Captain Matt Zero sent you over to settle his debt! Might save your life!" shouted out Matt as the boat continued to get further and further from the ship. About halfway across, Creighton looked back to the ship to see the lights onboard going out one by one.

"Something tells me Matt doesn't want to get caught," he murmured to himself, continuing to row again.

Upon arriving, the two boarded the floating ruins of the ship, a dismal sight amidst them. Izzy quickly lit a lamp as Creighton picked up a sword off the deck. There was evidence of a struggle, several planks of wood had been decimated and charred from some kind of fire.

"Maybe something exploded?" Creighton asked. A sudden squeaking sounded, catching the duo's attention to a lowly sailor pulling away at a rope. Izzy walked up to the man and looked up the rope, seeing that it was attached to a set of sails but had no real effect on them.

"Must pick up the sails, must pick up on speed..." the sailor mumbled to himself repetitively.

"It's no use, sir," Izzy pointed out, looking back at the man. "You've run ashore."

The sailor gave Izzy a forlorn gaze. "No," he said gravely. "Beneath us...breath of death...tendrils of turmoil...a burning flash..."

SPLASH

Creighton and Izzy looked behind them towards what once was the center of the ship, catching sight of the ripples in the ocean's maw. A hand reached out, dragging up a body that crawled up on deck and laid still face-down. Creighton cautiously approached the body, turned it over, and instantly recoiled away from it again with a shudder, staring into the suckered face of the body. Not an eye or nose or mouth remained on that face.

And with a flash of lightning and a crash of thunder, the waves parted open, and up from the depths of the sea emerged a tremendous and grandiose bireme. Water poured off of its deck and out from the holes where several oars rowed from as its grand sail furled out into the storm. The ship of the line sailed towards the wreckage, the lightning revealing its frightful appearance of decaying black wood carved and constructed to resemble the jaws of a sea serpent.

Without warning, the wreckage was swarmed by all manner of monstrous humanoids, some composed of what may have been sea creatures while others formed of skeletal remains. One even had a pair of slime-coated bat wings opening wide as it dove down upon the terrified sailors that remained. The humanoids began gathering these remaining sailors and bringing them to what had once been the stern of the wreckage.

"We're surrounded!" Creighton yelped, tensely brandishing the sword he had picked up to attempt to ward off the monsters approaching him and Izzy, who had taken to waving the lamp she was carrying to keep them back that way. Quickly their defenses were overwhelmed, their weapons disarmed, and the duo forced to the join the rest of the misfortunate ones at the back of the ship.

The oceanic bireme finally docked next to the wreckage and weighed an iron anchor into the depths from which it came. Creighton and Izzy looked over towards the ship while the other sailors simply shivered of cold and fear. The two sought out some form of life from the vessel, but it appeared that the bireme had somehow moved all on its own.

And then a heavy thud echoed across the deck. Creighton and Izzy looked over as the thuds got louder and its creator closer. The peg-legged man crept over, his piratical long coat flapping behind him in the wind. Of all the crew members aboard the ship, he appeared to be the most human, the only discrepancy being his discolored skin making him appear to be drowned. His gaunt face gave a ghastly glance over the survivors of the wreckage as he pulled out a curious elongated smoking pipe. He walked over to one of the frightened sailors and knelt down to get a good look, took a draft of the pipe, and breathed out the smoke again, a heavy stench of death pervading it.

"Do you fear death?" he asked the sailor. "Do you fear that dark abyss?"

The sailor avoided making eye contact, but he nodded his head shyly in response to the man's questions.

"All your deeds laid bare? All your sins punished?" the man's questions were followed by the sailor nodding his head even more so, willingly agreeing with the truth these questions pressed at.

"I can offer you an escape."

The sailor looked up into the wicked eyes of the man, a curled smile brightening their blackened gleam as they looked back into those desperate blue eyes.

"Don't listen to 'im!"

The grin immediately transformed into a scowl as the man looked over at the one who had spoken out. The outspoken one quickly looked back down trembling, a quiet mumble escaping his lips. The man snorted and walked over to this man, grabbing his neck and hoisting him up above his head. The strangled one reached for his throat in a poor attempt to remove the grip around it as the man inspected him like an insect.

"Do you not fear death?" the man asked curiously.

"I'll...take my...chances..." the strangled one coughed out, still attempting to escape the man's grasp.

The man released the poor fellow from his grip, who managed to land on his feet. At that moment, the man's arm twitched and unsheathed a cruel blade from his sleeve.

"To the depths with ye," he said, slashing the fellow's throat and spraying warm blood across the others to mix in with the briny water and the freezing winds. The creatures laughed maniacally as the misfortunate one was tossed overboard and the man withdrew the blade back into his arm, taking a draft from his smoldering pipe.

"You fiend!" one of the sailors cried out, rising to his feet in an outrage. "How dare you-"

SLICE

A cruel squelching sound was heard as the outspoken one's gut was run through by another blade from the man's other arm. The man gazed deeply and intensely into the dying one's eyes.

"Life is a cruel affair," he breathed. "Death can be crueler still."

The man twisted his arm, causing the torn one to squeal in pain from the blade stirring.

"Death can take away a wise man or an unborn child," the man continued. "It can snuff out a bright light without warning. But worst of all, it can creep slowly and torture its victim. Death waits for no man, but death will wait for the inevitable."

The man finally tore through the man's side with his blade and withdrew it as the man fell down onto the deck, dead. Izzy looked down horrorstricken as Creighton became nauseated and forced himself to look away.

"Death is indeed a cruel affair," the man continued with his speech, "but it can be bargained with. I offer unto you a fair agreement with death."

He knelt down before the same sailor he had been dealing with prior to the outbursts. The sailor looked up into the man's eyes once more, a blue forlorn hope looking into the depths of two abyssal pools.

"Join my crew aboard the _Gladius Divinum_," the man offered, "and withhold your soul from Death's grasp for beyond the Judgment Day."

The sailor's eyes brightened with this statement but then slowly dulled into a monotonous gray.

"Will ye serve?"

"I will serve."

And the gray eyes dissipated into a milky white before a blackened fog overtook them. The man smiled as he placed his hand on the man's head, infusing a dark aura upon him. The sailor cried out in pain as his body became transfigured by the aura into a more monstrous form like the other humanoids, who celebrated their new comrade in arms. The reborn sailor stood tall, examining his new form as the man turned to Creighton and Izzy with some curiosity.

"Neither of you are dead nor dying," he said, glancing over at one of his own crew members who bowed humbly before the man. Turning back to the duo, the man asked, "What purpose brought you here?"

"Captain Matt Zero sent us over to pay off his debt," Izzy replied, not daring to even look up.

The man grimaced and bent down lower to Izzy and Creighton. "What is your purpose?" he asked again.

"Captain Matt Zero sent us over to pay off his debt," Izzy repeated, now visibly shaking while staring firmly at the deck.

"Did he now?" the man stood up again, smoking his pipe. "Then rise and let us pay him a visit then?"

From the decks of the _Poseidon_, Matt kept watch over the events occurring at the wreckage via telescope, a safe distance away from the action. He watched as Izzy and Creighton wandered the ship and investigated the crew, the rising of the real _Gladius Divinum_ from the depths of the ocean, the appearance of its grisly crew, and of course its captain's ritual for repentance and cruel display of death. He knew he'd be safe back on his own ship, away from all that nasty business.

That is, until he took the telescope away from his eye to find the wicked captain now in front of him with Izzy and Creighton at his sides. The rest of the crew was taken aback by this sudden appearance just as the rest of the monstrous crew came aboard out of nowhere.

"...oh...hello Rommel."

"You have a debt to pay," Rommel spoke sternly. "You've been captain of the _Poseidon _for seven years. _That_ was the agreement."

"As I explained to Bonesman," Matt quickly explained, "I was only captain for three years, then I was mutinied upon by my own-"

"Then you were a poor captain but a captain none the less," Rommel interrupted pointedly. He paced the deck for a moment as he asked loudly, "Have you not all these years introduced yourself as _Captain_ Matt Zero?"

A great laughter roared from Rommel's crew as Matt winced. He turned back to face Rommel and responded, "You've got your payment, one soul to crew for all eternity!"

"One soul is not equal to another," Rommel retorted.

"Ah-ha! So now we're agreed on the transaction to take place, now we're just haggling over price!"

Rommel looked back at Matt, a curious look in his eye. "Price?" he asked.

"Just how many souls do you think my soul's worth?" Matt asked.

Rommel thought for a moment about this question, smoking his pipe before tossing it aside and announcing, "One hundred souls. Three days."

Matt smiled hearing this proposal. "Fantastic," he replied and headed over to Creighton and Izzy. "I'll just take my friends back, and we'll get started right away-"

"I'll keep the boy, a good faith payment," Rommel intervened, grabbing the back of Creighton's shirt in the process. "That leaves you ninety-nine more to go."

Another chuckle spread through Rommel's crew. On the other hand, Matt appeared confused.

"Why not take both Creighton and Izzy?" Matt asked. "Two souls of a hundred already?"

Rommel chuckled as he hoisted Creighton to his feet. "I think you've lost one friend already," he said with a cruel smile. "You need not lose another. After all, you'll need all the luck you can get."

The entirety of Rommel's crew roared with laughter at that point as they disappeared off the ship. Meanwhile Rommel lifted Creighton up with one hand and turned to Matt.

"And before I forget..."

He then lifted his free hand up and fired a firebolt at Matt's hand, causing it to burn with pain as the Mark faded away from it.

"Ninety-nine souls, three days," Rommel said, and he disappeared with a screaming Creighton. Izzy ran to try and catch Creighton but just missed them as they vanished.

As though to check to make sure it was truly gone, Matt inspected his hand where the Mark of Rommel had been and found no trace of it anywhere. True to his word, Rommel had removed the Mark, at least for now. Izzy walked up to Matt, a stern teary look in her eyes.

"Now what do we do? He has Creighton!" she yelled at Matt, startling his inspection. "And as far as we know, Shannon's still with Montalban! We've lost two of our friends already, and both of them are your fault!"

She grasped Matt by the scruff of his jacket and hoisted him into the air. "What are we supposed to do now?" she demanded. "Who's going to be the next friend you sacrifice for this mission of yours?!"

A stunned silence befell the crew aboard the _Poseidon_ as Matt simply looked back at Izzy, tears starting to stream down her face. Finally, she put Matt down and fell to her knees.

"I saw what Rommel did," she said amidst her tears. "He doesn't care if Creighton lives or dies. He's-"

"-a heartless wretch of a man. I know."

Izzy looked up at Matt as he looked off grimly towards the _Gladius Divinum_ sailing away into the haze of the storm.

"Dealing with Rommel was my business, just as dealing with Montalban was," Matt continued. "I had it on good faith that you had agreed to help me if you got involved."

"But we never prepared for this!" Izzy said. "How could we prepare for something like this?"

"To your credit, nothing could have prepared you for this journey," Matt answered. "I'm sorry that this is causing you such grief, but you must understand that these are necessary steps to take in order to reach the ultimate goal."

"Sacrificing your friends in order to reach a goal - especially to inhuman things like _him_ - should never have been part of the plan!" Izzy screamed.

Matt knelt down to Izzy's level and said firmly, "Creighton knows what he needs to do at this point. And by giving him to Rommel, he has helped give us exactly what we need: time."

"Time to do what?" Izzy asked quietly, choking on her sobs.

"Time to get what will save him."

Izzy then ceased crying as Matt got up and walked towards his cabin, calling out, "Willaby, it's time to go to Tortuga."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Would you be surprised if I said Adolf Rommel was the Davy Jones of this fanfic? No? Probably because that's his basic character form.

Like Montalban before him, Adolf had a history and a takeover segment, but the man is far more than what he was originally. Much of his background's covered in the previous chapter while his personality I think is shown well in this chapter. Adolf Rommel is a cruel and fiendish man, if you can even call him that, who's been for millenia pursuing the Trinity's ultimate source of power. He's raided cities, plundered continents, destroyed mountains and oceans - he sacrificed an entire army of followers in order to create the unholy abomination that is the Dark Leviathan (but you'll hear more about that in a later chapter I'm sure). That's just the kind of man he is: he'll do anything to get what he wants. And unfortunately right now what he wants is Matt's head on a silver platter.

Next time: it's a duel! Finally!


	28. A Test of Wills

Chapter 28: A Test of Wills

"Oi oi! Watch where you mop there, Joey!"

"Nyeh, you keep saying dat like it's gonna help!"

"Ya know, he may have a point if you can't mop that well."

"Watch it!"

"Come on, guys, keep it together."

Joey and Tristan resumed their mopping duties as Andrew walked the deck of the ship with Yugi. After helping Shannon to escape from Montalban's prison, he worked to get in contact with Yugi and his friends in order that they might help him sail a ship. Taking care to leave their respective families an indication as to where they were headed and packing and preparing appropriately, they soon found themselves hijacking a smaller boat from one of the docks to sail off with. It had been nearly a month since their departure from Domino City, and they were out at sea about the same time the _Poseidon_ had docked at the river mouth that lead to Auntie Margareta's hut.

Whilst Andrew and Yugi walked the deck and Joey and Tristan mopped it, Shannon managed the sail, and Tea rested below decks in one of the beds. Shannon finished her task and then headed over to Andrew and Yugi, who were now at the bow of the ship looking towards the sea.

"We're only a few days away from the Panama Canal, by my estimate," Andrew was explaining to Yugi while they looked out onto the horizon.

"That's certainly something," Yugi nodded.

"Um, excuse me, Andrew?" Shannon intervened. "Might I ask where we are headed now?"

"Eh? Are you still worried about that?" Andrew responded. "Really, don't worry about it, we're bound to find Matt in a matter of days."

"With all due respect, I think it would be nice if we all knew where we were headed to," Shannon spoke up.

"Right now, we're headed towards the Panama Canal to continue through on our journey to get to Matt," Andrew replied. "Unfortunately, it's going to take us a long time to get there, especially given the speed of our vessel and the distance we have to traverse, but we're bound to arrive long before Matt even gets close."

"Besides, dat side trip onto dose Hawaiian Islands was really something!" Joey chimed in, mopping by the bow.

"I'll say! I've never eaten so much food in my life!" Tristan added as he passed on by as well.

"But how long until we find Matt?" Shannon asked more insistently.

"Well, given that it's been about a month already..." Andrew took a moment to think on all the formulations that went into nautical traversing in order to come up with an estimate of time. "I would say we'd run into him in about three months' time, give or take."

"Three months?!" Shannon yelped.

"That's assuming the month and a half of travel to get to our final destination and assuming Matt takes his time getting over there," Andrew shrugged. "Really, it's a matter of circumstances, but we're bound to have everything taken care of."

"Taken care of? Circumstances?!" Shannon was starting to get a little peeved. "I don't even think you know where you're going!"

"Of course I know where we're going," Andrew replied cooly.

"Then what's our final destination?"

"It's still a ways away, just relax and-"

"How can I relax if we don't have the slightest clue where to go?!"

"We already know where we're going-"

"_You_ know where we're going, the rest of us are just along for the ride!"

The argument was starting to become a little too much to handle. Joey and Tristan had stopped working to watch the struggle while Yugi worked on mediating between the two. Even Tea ended up coming out from below decks to check on the noise.

"Now come on, let's not lose our heads now-"

"The only one about to lose their head is our sorry excuse for a captain if he can't even tell us where we're going!"

"Maybe you'd be better off in your cell, your Highness."

"If it means that Matt would show up soon enough to rescue me, then yes, I would-"

"Oh right, because that's obviously on his mind right now."

"Can't we just talk about this?"

"We're obviously talking about it right-"

"And how _dare_ you assume that he wouldn't be thinking about me!"

"Well, it's not like I'll assume he has everyone's best interests in mind, given that he only stole Slifer the Sky Dragon."

"I'm sure he had a good reason!"

"Right, just like when he left you in that cell."

"THAT'S IT!"

Shannon charged through the hatch to below decks, nearly trampling Tea in the process. The others looked on curiously until she reemerged with two Duel Disks. She tossed one over to Andrew who caught it effortlessly before it could fall overboard.

"If you're not going to tell me where we're going," Shannon said, strapping her own Duel Disk to her arm, "then I'll just have to beat it out of you!"

"This is rather unlike you," Andrew noted. "Granted, you've been on a ship for about a month or so. Could be some form of seasickness or something. Ah well, if it's a duel you want, how could I refuse?"

He smiled as he strapped his own Duel Disk on his arm and prepared his deck. Yugi and the others took refuge on the sidelines to keep out of their way.

"So what happened here?" Tea asked curiously, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Da way I understand it, Shannon's frustrated over not knowing where we're going," Joey explained, "so she's gonna duel Andrew to get da answers she wants."

"Well she better know what she's doing," Tristan said. "After all, she's taking on the guy who beat Yugi in the finals of that Titans tournament."

"Well it should be good to take a break from all this sailing around to watch a duel," Yugi pointed out.

"Dat's true," Joey mused. "I hadn't even looked at my Duel Monsters cards since we set sail."

At that point, Andrew and Shannon each activated their Duel Disks and readied themselves.

"Well then," Andrew said, "shall we get started?"

"It would be my pleasure!" Shannon answered back.

"DUEL START!"

Shannon: 4000  
Andrew: 4000

"I'll go first," Shannon announced, drawing her first card. "And I'll activate my Terrorizing the City spell card!"

"Terrorizing da City? In da middle of da ocean?" Joey asked, confused.

"That card allows Shannon to bring out some of her most powerful monsters right from her hand to the field," Andrew explained. Then he smiled and said, "This should be interesting if you're using your real deck."

"You better hope I don't ruin your chances of victory too soon!" Shannon retorted. "Now I'll use Terrorizing the City's effect to bring out a Level 8 or higher Monster King from my hand! And I call upon the Toxic Smog Monster King (8/2400/2100)!"

Suddenly, an enormous black creature appeared with a single hideous eye staring down at Andrew. The others jumped back a little bit, or in Joey's case overboard. Tristan quickly fished him out as Joey yelped, "Dat's one freaky monster!"

"You gotta remember that these things are holograms sometimes," Tristan snorted.

"I'll Set one card on the field before I end my turn," Shannon continued as a single card appeared.

"If that's all you can muster on turn one," Andrew said, "then this won't be a long duel. My move!"

He drew his next card and looked over his hand before saying, "Now I'll summon a monster in Defense mode before I end my turn."

The others seemed a little surprised. "Only one monster?" Yugi wondered aloud.

"You better not talk down to me when you can only make one play!" Shannon scoffed, drawing her next card.

"Because one monster is all I need to stop your deck," Andrew replied.

Shannon flinched as the others looked back and forth for an answer. Andrew continued, "The main dilemma with Monster Kings is that they limit the player to having control over one monster at a time. That in turn can lead to a lot of problems if the monster she has out isn't able to work around the monsters her opponent wields."

"I get it," Yugi said. "If she has a Monster King out, she can't willingly adapt to a situation her opponent might come up with. She's forced to rely on one monster at a time."

"I thought you couldn't do dat in Duel Monsters," Joey mused.

"It's not recommended, but then again Monster Kings were designed to be one-monster operations," Andrew finished.

"If you're done giving the lecture, it's time for my Toxic Smog Monster King to attack your monster!" Shannon intervened. "Go, Toxic Breath of Annihilation!"

The foul fiend opened a mouth beneath its eye and fired off a heavy black stream of air towards Andrew's monster, which revealed itself to be a jar that deflected the attack!

"Seems you've hit my Ancient Hero Guardian (4/800/2000)," Andrew responded as the monster assembled itself together into its true form.

"It's one of dose indestructible monsters!" Joey yelped.

"Not quite," Shannon said. "I'll use Toxic Smog Monster King's effect to wipe out your guardian!"

The fiend transformed itself into a dense fog and surrounded the Ancient Hero Guardian, corroding away at it until it was destroyed.

"Looks like your monster couldn't handle the power of my monster," Shannon taunted.

"Don't get too full of yourself just yet," Andrew said, drawing his next card. "I'll play my monster face-down and set two more cards."

"It's a shame neither of those cards will do you any good," Shannon said, drawing her next card.

"That's where you're wrong," Andrew replied. "Go, Curse of the Ancients!"

A dark wind swept across the field and whirled about Shannon for a moment as it drained away her Life Points.

Shannon: 3500  
Andrew: 4000

"Now with my Curse active, you've lost 500 Life Points," Andrew explained, "and your monsters will lose 500 Atk and Def each turn."

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/**2400**/2100 - 8/**1900**/1600)

"That won't stop me from attacking anyway!" Shannon exclaimed. "Go, Toxic Smog Monster King!"

The fiend once again breathed its corrosive breath at the monster, revealing it to be a bizarre creature half golden yellow and half midnight blue, its face covered by a mask that was half sun and half moon. It robes fluttered behind it as the breath passed by, and as the breath failed the A marked on the mask was revealed.

"Now you've attacked my Ancient Hero Lunasolares (4/1500/1500)," Andrew said.

"That must be one of the Ancient Heroes we hadn't seen yet," Tristan exclaimed.

_His deck continues to be full of surprises, _Yugi thought.

_Indeed, his deck is extremely versatile from the look of it._

Yugi looked over at Yami who had appeared next to him once again, watching the duel with a smile on his face. Yugi remember how the Pharaoh had enjoyed their own duel with Andrew and wondered if he was watching if only for Andrew's deck.

"Now I'll use Toxic Smog Monster King's power to wipe away your Ancient Hero!" Shannon exclaimed.

"Not if I activate my Ancient Heroes' Shield!" Andrew countered. "With it, I'll protect my monster from your effect until the end of the turn!"

As the fiend transformed itself in order to attack the hero, a mysterious veil appeared to protect the magician from the assault.

"Then it's your move," Shannon said begrudgingly.

"With pleasure," Andrew responded, drawing his next card.

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/**1900**/1600 - 8/**1400**/1100)

"Soon your monster will be nothing more but dust in the wind," Andrew said. "I'll switch my Lunasolares to Attack Mode and have him attack you directly!"

Ancient Hero Lunasolares (4/1500/**1500** - 4/**1500**/1500)

"He can't do dat, can he?" Joey asked as the monster lunged forth and fired a beam of light at Toxic Smog Monster King! Just then, the monster transformed itself into its blackened fog form and disappeared, forcing the attack towards Shannon!

Shannon: 2000  
Andrew: 4000

"The downside to Toxic Smog Monster King is in its effect to not be an attack target," Andrew explained. "And since it's the only monster that can be out on the field, it makes Shannon the only attack target. Now go, Lunasolares! Attack her again!"

The magician lunged forth and fired a dark beam of moonlight at Shannon through the fog of her monster!

Shannon: 500  
Andrew: 4000

"Huh? His monster attacked twice?" Joey asked.

"It must be its special ability," Yugi explained, "and because of it, Shannon's down to only 500 Life Points."

"And now I'll Set this monster and end my turn," Andrew concluded.

"Then it's my move! I draw!" Shannon exclaimed.

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/**1400**/1100 - 8/**900**/600)

"I've no choice but to switch my Toxic Smog Monster King into Defense Mode and use its ability to destroy your Lunasolares!" Shannon continued.

The ghoul transformed itself into its smog form and surrounded the magician, corroding and eating away at it until it faded away into nothingness. Afterwards, the creature reappeared in its normal form and shielded itself.

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/**900**/600 - 8/900/**600**)

"And I'll play one more card face-down before ending my turn," Shannon concluded.

"My turn then," Andrew announced, drawing his next card as the wind reemerged and swept away the smog fiend's power.

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/900/**600** - 8/400/**100**)

"Now it's time for me to rid the field of your monster king," Andrew said. "I'll start by flipping up my face-down monster, Ancient Hero Typhoonador (3/1200/400)!"

The whirlwind genie appeared once more on Andrew's field, its trademark twister whirling beneath its torso.

"Now I'll activate the power of Typhoonador to destroy one of your face-down cards!" Andrew exclaimed.

The genie whipped up a twister and focused the wind towards one of Shannon's Set cards!

"I'll activate the card you just targeted!" Shannon declared. "Go, Proof of Powerlessness!"

The smog ghoul opened its maw once again and roared loudly across the deck of the ship!

"With my Proof of Powerlessness Trap card," Shannon explained, "I can destroy all monsters on your field with a level of five or less, just as long as I control a level seven or higher monster. Naturally, my Monster King fits the bill."

The roar crippled the genie and blew it away into oblivion!

"Figures," Andrew said, catching Shannon by surprise. "Now I'll summon Ancient Hero Gamble-Lee (3/200/1400) in Attack mode!"

A suave gambler appeared on Andrew's field now, dressed in his neat vest and a baggy sirwal and pointed shoes. He smiled a cheeky smile as he held in one of his gloved hands a single die, the same glove upon which was the signature A.

"Because your Toxic Smog Monster King decided to destroy Ancient Hero Lunasolares, it lost its ability to dematerialize and avoid my attack," Andrew explained. "You know what that means. Go, Gamble-Lee!"

The gambler enhanced his die into a larger die and tossed it at the smog fiend, crushing it with its sheer girth.

"I'll Set one card on the field and end my turn," Andrew declared.

"Then it's time for my move," Shannon said, drawing her next card.

"Now that her Toxic Smog Monster King has been removed from the field, she's allowed to bring out another one of her Monster Kings if she wants," Yugi said.

"And I think I'll do just that!" Shannon announced. "I use Terrorizing the City's effect to summon forth my Mystical Moth Monster King (8/2800/2100)!"

A brilliantly colored insect resembling a mix between a moth and a butterfly appeared on the field, flapping its wings and spreading about a sparkling dust.

"First things first," Shannon said. "I'll use the special ability of my Mystical Moth Monster King to give myself 1000 Life Points!"

The moth fluttered around Shannon, showering her with its dust and restoring her Life Points!

Shannon: 1500  
Andrew: 4000

"And now I'll attack your Gamble-Lee with my-"

"Sorry, but I'm stopping your attack," Andrew interrupted.

"What?!"

"I'm activating my face-down card, Fear of the Ancient Heroes," Andrew continued, triggering his face-down card. "With it, I can prevent you from attacking with your monsters if I have an Ancient Hero on my field."

"Good move," Yugi nodded. "His monster isn't that powerful, so he utilized another one of his cards in order to protect it from being destroyed."

Shannon flinched but quickly recovered. "It doesn't matter, I'll be able to take your monster down on my next turn!" she said.

"We'll see about that," Andrew replied, drawing a card. "First I'll start by activating Gamble-Lee's effect!"

"Gamble-Lee's effect?" Joey asked. Andrew smiled at this remark, saying, "You ought to appreciate this ability, as it involves a little bit of luck. You see, by activating his ability, I'm able to roll a die and destroy all the monsters on your field with a Level that is less than or equal to twice the number I rolled."

"So let's see, in order to beat dat moth, den he's gotta roll higher dan dat monster's Level, cut in half, and den..." Joey attempted to figure out the number on his fingers.

"Get it right," Tea sighed. "He has to roll a four or higher."

"Go, Gamble-Lee! Cast the die of fate!" Andrew called out, signaling the gambler to roll his trademark die. The die rolled about for a little bit until it landed on-

"Just what I needed!"

"Oh no!"

"It's a four!" Joey yelped.

"Now, Gamble-Lee! Unleash your power!"

The gambler fired a beam of energy at the die, causing it to open up and fire off a greater magical beam at the Mystical Moth Monster King! The moth screeched loudly before disappearing from the field.

"Fortunately for you, I can't attack in the turn I use Gamble-Lee's effect," Andrew said, "but I can still use him as a tribute to summon my Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare (5/2300/1200)!"

The gambler disappeared in a flash of fire, and from the embers arose a mighty phoenix! It wore an amulet that featured the trademark A of the heroes, and its wings burned with the flames of its summoning.

"That'll do for now," Andrew said, ending his turn.

"Man, Andrew hasn't even taken a single point of damage," Tristan noted.

"Dat's true, isn't it?" Joey confirmed. "And he's pushed Shannon back into a corner again."

"Don't be too quick to assume she's down for the count," Yugi said. "After all, he gave her a big opening by using Gamble-Lee's effect."

"It's my turn then," Shannon said, drawing her next card. "And I'll start by activating the Reckoning of the Monster Kings spell! With it, I can call forth a Monster King from my deck to my hand, and in combination with my Terrorizing the City spell, I can bring it forth directly to my field! So now I will summon forth The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/?/?) in Attack mode!"

A great light shone down as a powerful being arose from behind Shannon! It stood at a great height, appearing much like a dragon but lacking a distinct pair of wings. Its mighty tail swished about as it extended its claws and roared proudly.

"Now that I have The Emperor of the Monster Kings in play, I can really do some damage," Shannon said. "I think I'll start by using The Emperor's special ability to gain the Atk and Def of every monster on the field!"

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/**?**/? - 12/**2300**/1200)

"Next I'll equip him with the Monster King Crystal Spear!" Shannon declared. "With its power, my Emperor gains an additional 1000 Atk points!"

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/**2300**/1200 - 12/**3300**/1200)

"Now it's time for my assault! Go Emperor! Blazing Crystal Spear!"

The Emperor then breathed down upon its newly-equipped spear, infusing it with the power of its fiery breath before throwing it towards the mighty phoenix!

"As usual, my Ancient Hero cannot be destroyed in battle," Andrew said absentmindedly, "though I will still take the damage."

The spear made contact with the phoenix and diverted its energy off towards Andrew while the phoenix deflected the spear itself back to the Emperor!

Shannon: 1500  
Andrew: 3000

"Now I'll Set one card to end my turn!" Shannon concluded.

"I suppose it's my turn then," Andrew said, drawing a new card. He looked at it and then back at Shannon. "Looks like it's the end of this duel," he said.

Everyone recoiled with shock. "He can't be serious!" Joey yelped.

"Did he draw the card he needed?" Tristan wondered aloud.

"First," Andrew continued, "I activate my Monster Reborn spell to bring back Ancient Hero Typhoonador from my Graveyard."

The whirlwind genie appeared once again on the field thanks to the powers of the resurrection spell.

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/**3300**/1200 - 12/**4500**/2000)

"Next, I'll use Typhoonador's ability to destroy your Crystal Spear," Andrew continued, prompting his monster to unleash a typhoon against the crystal spear.

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/**4500**/2000 - 12/**3500**/2000)

"Now I'll sacrifice my Ancient Hero Typhoonador and my Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare," Andrew declared.

"Is he going for what I think he's going for?" Joey asked aloud as the monsters were surrounded by a familiar burning aura.

"And I'll use their power to summon out my Ancient Hero Superior (10/?/?)!" Andrew continued.

The monsters were then consumed in flames that brought forth the mighty warrior that had beaten Yugi in the tournament. It brandished its trademark weapon as the other fallen Ancient Heroes appeared beside it and infused their power into it.

Ancient Hero Superior (10/**?**/? - 10/**4000**/4000)  
The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/**3500**/2000 - 12/**4000**/4000)

"Sorry to say it, but it seems our monsters are tied," Shannon said. "You may have brought out Superior, but you won't be able to defeat the Emperor!"

"True," Andrew said. "However, I managed to draw a card that could help speed that up."

"Could he have really drawn a card dat powerful?" Joey asked.

"Anything's possible with his deck," Yugi noted. "We don't know what kind of card he drew."

"I'll now activate my Key of the Ancient Heroes!" Andrew declared. "This card equips itself to my Superior and raises its Atk by 1000 points."

A large key appeared, its long sharp end protruding from a ring grip behind it. The warrior reached out and grabbed this key and brandished it just as easily as its regular weapon.

Ancient Hero Superior (10/**4000**/4000 - 10/**5000**/4000)  
The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/**4000**/4000 - 12/**5000**/4000)

Shannon's eyes widened. "I've never seen you play that card before," she gasped.

"Take it as a sign that you've forced my hand," Andrew replied. "Now it's time for Superior's onslaught to begin! Go, Superior! Attack the Emperor!"

The warrior charged forth with its weapons, dodging past fireballs spewed from its dragonic nemesis. Finally he lunged forward and struck down the Emperor!

"I activate my Emperor's effect!" Shannon said. "With it, I can negate his destruction once per turn, but I'll have to switch him to Defense Mode afterwards."

The Emperor knelt down on the ground, beaten down but still strong.

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/**5000**/4000 - 12/5000/**4000**)

"Man, and I thought Andrew might've had dat for a second," Joey commented.

"Don't be too hasty to count him out yet, Joey," Yugi responded.

"Now I activate the power of the Key of the Ancient Heroes!" Andrew declared.

"What?!"

"With its powers, after Superior attacks," Andrew explained, "if you still control a monster on your field, I'm allowed to attack it again with Superior! And since your monster's in Defense Position, my Key will allow Superior to inflict the difference as damage to you!"

The warrior leapt forth once again and thrust its trident towards the Emperor!

"I'm activating my Monster Crystal Shield to protect the Emperor from being destroyed this turn," Shannon exclaimed, quickly activating her trap and protecting her Emperor from the warrior's wrath. The shockwaves bounced off of the shield and struck Shannon, forcing her to the ground.

Shannon: 500  
Andrew: 3000

Shannon soon got up and said, "At least I've saved my monster."

"A costly misplay," Andrew said, shocking Shannon. "Now Superior, once more!"

The warrior leapt forth one last time and plunged its trident through the Emperor, the energy waves crashing against Shannon and depleting the rest of her Life Points!

Shannon: 0  
Andrew: 3000

"And that's the game," Andrew said, deactivating his Duel Disk and gathering his cards. Shannon fell to her knees on the other side of the deck and looked down at the ground as Andrew walked over to her. She looked up at him as he loomed over her.

"I guess you won," she said, looking down again. "I won't ask about where we're going anymore."

A tense silence persisted for a moment as the others watched anxiously at Andrew and Shannon. Then Andrew said, "Our destination's Tortuga."

Shannon looked back up at Andrew as he passed her by to go below decks, a foreboding chill passing by. "Tortuga?" she asked.

"I've known my brother long enough to know where he'd go in case he was in danger," Andrew explained. "The first thing he'd do for what his search is go to Tortuga and find a crew. Or if it's not the first thing, it's a guarantee he'll make port there to go scouting. We'll meet up with him there and journey along with him after that."

And with that, Andrew disappeared belowdecks. Everyone on deck looked at each other, some with curiosity, some with confusion, and Shannon herself with dread.

They were headed to Tortuga.

* * *

"What do you mean they've disappeared?"

"Well that's just it sir. They've just vanished."

Montalban sat behind his mahogany desk stirring around a glass of wine contemplatively as he looked at the lowly officer before him. The poor fellow had been given the misfortune of informing Montalban of Shannon's jailbreak nearly a month ago, and now he had been once again privileged with the dishonor of informing Montalban about the tracking signals that had been placed on Shannon during her stay going out. Without a notable tracking signal on Shannon, it would be nearly impossible to locate her location and as such keep an eye on at least one of those meddlesome brothers.

Montalban took a sip of the wine as he continued to stare the poor man down. "I must say this doesn't look good on your record," he said. "I'd have taken off a dock of your pay if her escape hadn't been premeditated. And yet you've brought up no plausible explanation for why our tracking devices have been tampered with?"

"We did put the devices in the buttons of her clothing as per regulations," the officer explained, "and we've kept a tab on her Duel Disk in case she took it with her, but as you know it's a rather temperamental technology. It could be that she washed the clothing since then, possibly dousing our trackers on her clothes. I have reason to suspect that the Duel Disk was in a duel, we've been working on how to keep our tracking devices from suffering from the energy spikes that occur in duels-"

"So you think that perhaps she was in a duel at some point before our tracking devices went out?" Montalban asked.

"It's possible," the officer answered.

Montalban then stood up and indicated for the officer to follow him over to the large world map on the wall. The two stood by as Montalban asked, "Where exactly was the last transmission signal from?"

The officer went up to the map and pointed out a small part of the Pacific Ocean. "Right about in here sir," the officer said. "We had tracked their departure from Domino Pier and all the way to Hawaii, from which they took a turn to the southeast and eventually..."

The officer trailed off as Montalban observed the direction he had been indicating. Then Montalban began tracing the line himself with his cane to the point where the officer had stopped and looked around the map. Then his eye caught the sight he was looking for and he smiled as he traced the route over to-

"The Panama Canal," he said.

"Sir?" the officer asked.

Montalban turned to the officer with a chuckle. "His brother is as predictable as Matt is," he said. "They're headed towards Tortuga."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Dueling? In MY Yu-gi-oh! fanfic?!...well, yeah, it's been long enough I'd say. Let's look at some cards!

**Terrorizing the City** (Continuous Spell card)  
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can Special Summon 1 Level 8 or higher "Monster King" monster from your hand. You cannot Normal Summon or Set in the turn you activate this effect.

**Toxic Smog Monster King** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 2400 Atk, 2100 Def, Fiend, DARK  
Effect: The controller of this card can only have 1 monster on their side of the field. This card cannot be selected as an attack target by your opponent's monsters (this does not protect you from being attacked directly). Once per turn, you can destroy 1 of your opponent's monsters, and if you do, negate this card's effect that prevents it from being selected as an attack target.

**Ancient Hero Guardian** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 800 Atk, 2000 Def, Rock, EARTH  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Double any Battle Damage your opponent takes from battles involving this card.

**Curse of the Ancients **(Continuous Trap card)  
Effect: When this card activates, inflict 500 damage to your opponent. Then during each player's Standby Phase, decrease the Atk and Def of your opponent's monster by 500.

**Ancient Hero Lunasolares** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1500 Def, Spellcaster, LIGHT  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. This card can attack twice during each Battle Phase.

**Ancient Heroes' Shield** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: All "Ancient Hero" monsters you control are unaffected by your opponent's card effects until the end of the turn.

**Ancient Hero Typhoonador** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 1200 Atk, 400 Def, Spellcaster, WIND  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Once per turn, you can destroy 1 Spell or Trap on the field. This card cannot attack in the turn this effect is activated.

**Proof of Powerlessness** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Activate only while you control a face-up Level 7 or higher monster. Destroy all face-up Level 5 or lower monsters your opponent controls. Monsters you control cannot attack this turn.

**Ancient Hero Gamble-Lee** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 200 Atk, 1400 Def, Spellcaster, EARTH  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. Once per turn, you can roll 1 six-sided die, then destroy all of your opponent's monsters with a level less than or equal to double the result of that roll. You cannot perform your Battle Phase in the turn this effect activates.

**Mystical Moth Monster King** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 2800 Atk, 2100 Def, Insect, LIGHT  
Effect: The controller of this card can only have 1 monster on their side of the field. Negate the effects of any Spell or Trap cards that target this card. Once per turn, you can gain 1000 Life Points.

**Fear of the Ancient Heroes** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: Until the End Phase, as long as you control at least 1 "Ancient Hero" monster, your opponent cannot declare an attack.

**Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 5, 2300 Atk, 1200 Def, Winged Beast, FIRE  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. When this card is sent to the Graveyard, during your next Standby Phase, Special Summon it to your side of the field and destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field.

**Reckoning of the Monster Kings** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Add 1 Level 8 or higher "Monster King" monster from your Deck to your hand.

**The Emperor of the Monster Kings** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 12, ? Atk, ? Def, Reptile, FIRE  
Effect: The controller of this card can only have 1 monster on their side of the field. This card's Atk and Def are equal to the total Atk and Def of all other monsters in play. Once per turn, you can negate the destruction of this card, then switch it to Defense Position.

**Monster King Crystal Spear** (Equip Spell card)  
Effect: You can only equip this card to a "Monster King" monster. The equipped monster gains 1000 Atk, and when it attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage to your opponent. You can send this card to the Graveyard to negate the equipped monster's destruction once per turn.

**Monster Reborn** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Special Summon 1 monster from either player's Graveyard.

**Ancient Hero Superior** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 10, ? Atk, ? Def, Warrior, EARTH  
Effect: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by Tributing all "Ancient Hero" monsters on your field. This card cannot be destroyed in battle. This card's original Atk and Def are equal to the number of "Ancient Hero" monsters in your Graveyard x800. Once per turn, this card gains 500 Atk. This card is unaffected by the effects of your opponent's Trap cards.

**Key of the Ancient Heroes** (Equip Spell card)  
Effect: You can only equip this to an "Ancient Hero" monster. This card's activation and effect cannot be negated. Increase the equipped monster's Atk by 1000. When the equipped monster attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage to the opponent. After the equipped monster attacks an opponent's monster, if the opponent still controls at least 1 monster, the equipped monster can attack again.

Wow, it feels good to see a duel again! As for the timeline, it should be noted that this takes place before Matt's group meets up with Auntie Margareta in Chapter 26. Good stuff!

With that said and done, it's time to set sail into Tortuga!...what?


	29. Recruitment

Chapter 29: Recruitment

As Andrew had predicted, it took the group about another month and a half before they reached the port of Tortuga with not a moment to spare. Arriving in the docks was easy enough, though traversing the town of Basse-Terre itself was a bit of a hassle. Not only did they have to deal with locals but a surprising amount of tourists as well. Eventually, the party located a tour bus to take them over to Tortuga and promptly boarded with haste.

Tortuga itself ended up being rather quiet. Most of the locals simply milled about the derelict town, but a few hungrily eyed the party as they arrived. The group seemed a little unnerved save for Andrew, who simply walked through the town without paying the slightest heed to any of the locals. One man came up and stopped right in front of Andrew to block his path.

"_E jis ki kote ou kwè ou prale?_" the man asked, holding his arms out to prevent the group's forward progress.

"_M' ap chache soutèren de pirates,_" Andrew responded, almost perfectly mimicking the accent of the local. "_Ou gen yon lide ki kote mwen ka jwenn li?_"

The man backed away startled before laughing loudly. "_Soutèren de pirates?! Moun ou sòt!"_ he mocked loudly. "_Genyen pirates pa isit la! Ale konnye a si w konnen sa ki bon pou ou!"_

Andrew then simply shoved the fellow easily out of the way and continued walking, the rest of the group quickly following as the man started shouting out profanities of an obscene nature at them.

"Well basically he's no help," Andrew said dismissively to the others. "He didn't have any clue as to what we were looking for."

"And what exactly are we looking for?" Shannon asked, inching away from a crawling local laughing with his nearly toothless smile.

"Oi oi!"

The group turned towards a dark alley wherein a small robed man beckoned them over. Andrew smiled and headed over while the others were far more hesitant.

"You're not seriously going to..." Shannon began.

"He's a friend," Andrew said just as dismissively. "Come on, we don't have all day."

Looking amongst each other, the group finally followed after Andrew and the mysterious stranger. Down the alleyway, the stranger led the party towards a small dirt path that snaked its way out of town. As the sun began to set on the horizon, the sounds of drunken merriment slowly swelled as they approached a cliff with a large opening inside of it. A green flash of light could be seen as the group descended the cliffside to the cavern below.

Within this cavern was another little town, one filled with stacked houses and much howling and laughter. The scent of alcohol was strong in the air as a loud and unruly mob walked down the middle of town, narrowly dodging the party as they continued towards an even louder part of town: the tavern.

"Man, dis place is crazy!" Joey yelped, narrowly dodging a drunken wench's grasp.

"My brother quoted to me that a man once said to him, 'If every town in the world were like this, no man would feel unwanted,'" Andrew said with a grin.

"Maybe next time they can mention something about the women," Shannon said, kicking off the hand of a random passerby.

The group finally managed to weave themselves into the tavern, only to find before them something none of them could have expected: a large fight had broken out, and Duel Monsters were everywhere. The tavern locals were fighting amongst each other with their monsters and their fists, bashing each other to bits and pieces.

"Well this is surprisingly more violent than usual," Andrew said.

"More violent?!" Joey yelped.

"This place is a madhouse!" Tristan concurred.

Not long before the arrival of Andrew and the others, the tavern was actually rather peaceful in its own special way. The locals were merely enjoying themselves with drink and song, unaware of what was to occur in a few short minutes.

"And what exactly do you think qualifies you for crewmanship aboard the _Poseidon_?" asked a sober man to another more drunken man, a toothy grin emphasized by his sideburns that anyone who knew him would recognize as belonging to the _Poseidon's_ first mate.

"I've been bored right out of my mind here in this land," the drunk responded sloppily, a heavy slur in his bitter tone. "I don't wanna have anything more to do with this world."

"Perfect! Sign here," the sober Willaby instructed, watching the drunk sign away a sloppy signature. "Next!"

There was a short line in front of the table Willaby had seated himself at, only three following the drunk man and none of them any more sober. Behind Willaby sat none other than Captain Matt Zero, tinkering away with the Compass Medallion in some sort of odd attempt to get it to respond in a clear manner. Truth be told, Matt was here to collect enough souls to wager his freedom from Rommel's grasp. He just happened to also have a bigger plan such that the souls was more of a backup plan, namely locating the heart of Rommel.

"Ever since I was a lad, I always wanted to sail the seas...forever."

"Sooner than you think. Sign here."

Yet another damned naive soul signed their life away onto the parchment before Willaby. Matt looked over as the last man in the line walked towards the other new recruits.

"So how many does that give us?" he asked Willaby.

"Including those four, that gives us...four," Willaby replied snidely.

Matt scowled at Willaby and continued poking at the medallion, hoping to make it react in some form or other. Willaby turned back around as a rather gaunt fellow walked up.

"And what's your story then?" Willaby asked.

"My story..." the man repeated, the bitterness in his voice becoming self-evident. "It's the same as yours only one chapter behind."

Suddenly Matt perked up as he recognized the voice. It wasn't a welcoming voice to hear, but then again there were few voices from his past that he liked to hear echo back at him. He looked over and observed the appearance of the man now in front of Willaby, taking in the dirty haggard face, a long drawn-out face that was both graceful and detestable. The man was dressed in an old navy uniform, one that had clearly been worn for many weeks and unwashed in all that time; if it were cleaner perhaps the man could've been mistaken for an admiral or maybe even a commodore. Its blues had mudded into darker blues and browns and the gold buttons lost their shine long ago, not unlike the eyes of the man, once blue but now faded into a dull and darkening grey.

"I chased a man across the world, looking to make him pay for his crimes against justice," the man continued on, gravely. "I sought to have him tried and sentenced to a life in prison where he belongs. I pursued him for four years, losing everything I ever had. The more I followed, the further he got, and the more I lost to him. I lost my crew, my job, my family...my entire life."

The man gave pause to his heavy story as he took a drink from the bottle he was carrying. Willaby inspected the man more closely before he finally recognized who he was.

"Malcolm?" he asked.

The man put the bottle down and leaned closely into Willaby's face. He smiled and breathed, "I'd like to see you hanged."

"What in blazes happened to you?" Willaby asked, coughing over the stench of Malcolm's breath.

"Weren't you listening?" Malcolm asked. "I lost everything because of you. You lot couldn't stay out of Lord Montalban's way, and I had to clean up the mess."

Malcolm threw the bottle on the ground, causing it to shatter and for some nearby patrons to look over with curiosity and concern. Willaby looked up at Malcolm as he rose to his towering height with that stupid smile on his face.

"And to think now that I'm not even in his employ anymore I should find you here at last," Malcolm said, chuckling over the irony. "Perhaps if I'd have been more careful over near Madagascar, I would have been able to get away from that storm and take the lot of you down."

"You tried to sail through that?" Willaby remarked curiously, but Malcolm simply ignored him and continued, "So do I make the cut onboard the ship or not?"

Willaby paused and worked to come up with an excuse, but Malcolm cut him off again, "You haven't said where you're going. Somewhere NICE!"

With that, Malcolm flipped the table over onto poor Willaby and brought out a sinister bladed Duel Disk, swinging it around wildly as he called out, "So am I not worthy enough to crew under Captain Matt Zero?"

Malcolm then whipped around towards a mysteriously walking plant and aimed a pistol right at the top of its brush. "Or perhaps I best kill you now and save myself the trouble?" he asked.

Matt poked his head up from behind the plant curiously as he caught sight of Malcolm's gun aimed at his head. "Perhaps you'd rather duel for the privilege instead?" Matt asked hopefully.

Malcolm smirked. "Sorry, old habits and all that," he said.

"Now then that's enough of that!"

A stray patron grappled Malcolm's pistol arm, forcing the gun to aim away from Matt and off towards the ceiling. The struggle forced Malcolm into shooting the gun, the bullet ricocheting off the ceiling and through a nearby glass, causing it to shatter. The wielder of this glass noted its broken status and in his drunkenness punched the person he thought responsible, which in turn led to others to fighting with each other until finally the tavern grew into a large brawl.

Several patrons brought out Duel Disks and began to challenge others to duels, ignoring the hazards of what others were doing with their fists and with nearby bottles and cups. The band took in the sight of the chaos and began to respond appropriately: by playing a more frantic song of merriment and bewilderment.

"Time to go, Willaby!" Matt yelled out over the chaos to his fallen comrade.

"Aye sir!" Willaby groaned loudly, moving the table off of him and dodging through the crowd.

"Oh no you don't!"

Suddenly a chain-linked handcuff soared through the air and locked onto Matt's right hand with surprising accuracy! Matt turned to the chain-cuff's wielder, only to find Malcolm on the other end.

"You and I have a score to settle!" Malcolm yelled out.

"Maybe you're more inclined to that duel?" Matt asked, but at that moment a couple of brawling patrons clambered through the chain, dragging both Matt and Malcolm down onto the ground. Matt looked up as Malcolm pulled out his pistol.

"I'll duel you in hell before I duel you in here!" Malcolm said.

"I don't think it'll make that much difference, honestly," Matt responded.

"JUST DIE!" Malcolm then pulled the trigger, only to hear the resounding click of the hammer hitting nothing. Checking over his pistol, he attempted to fire it off again and again, a futile effort given that it was clear that the pistol was unloaded. In the meantime, Matt began attempting to pick the lock on his handcuff, though with his dominant hand being entrapped in its clasp he was forced to make do with his left hand.

Unfortunately for him, Malcolm got restless of his pistol and tossed it away, dragging Matt via the chain into a safer and less crowd-filled environment. He dragged Matt all the way up two sets of staircases and onto the uppermost balcony, thrusting him with surprising strength across the floor.

"Get up on your feet!" Malcolm said, triggering his bladed Duel Disk. "There won't be any more interruptions up here! I'm going to finally be rid of you, and once you're dead I'll drag your corpse up to Lord Montalban's doorstep and reclaim my honor!"

"Now just hold on a moment," Matt said. "What if I could offer you a way to get back into Montalban's graces without killing me?"

"I'd say GO TO HELL!" Malcolm shouted, striking down at Matt with the blade of his Duel Disk. Matt rolled out of the way, dodging the blade in the nick of time and causing it to strike into a chair instead.

"Just give me three seconds to explain!" Matt said quickly.

"You have two seconds," Malcolm countered, removing his blade disk from the chair. "One..."

"I know what Montalban's looking for!" Matt exclaimed.

"And two!" Malcolm raised the blade into the air.

"And I know where to find it!"

Matt closed his eyes and raised his own Duel Disk in an attempt to shield himself from the oncoming attack. Fortunately for him, Malcolm had stopped his own strike from coming down.

"You've got my attention," Malcolm said sternly. "Start talking."

Matt opened his eyes and looked up. "You know that would be too easy," he replied. "Beat me in a duel, and I'll just straight up tell you. Otherwise, you'll have to join my crew in order to find out."

Malcolm grimaced at the idea, but with no other choice, he put his blade disk down. "Fine," he agreed unwillingly. "We'll duel on your terms."

Matt smiled. "Alright then, shall we begin then?"

With that, the two brought out their dueling decks and placed them in their Duel Disks, Matt's deck being noticeably larger than Malcolm's. Malcolm smirked as he noticed this detail, saying, "Still have the same old deck, eh? What with its bulk and all?"

"It's managed to beat a few opponents, and it'll manage to beat you too," Matt said, drawing his hand.

"If you're so sure," Malcolm retorted, "then let's begin!"

"DUEL!"

Malcolm: 4000  
Matt: 4000

"Nothing can prepare you for what I'm about to do," Malcolm taunted, drawing his first card. "My deck's gone through some changes since our last encounter. As a start, let me introduce you to Armageddon Knight (4/1400/1200)!"

Out of a shadowy portal, a masked knight warped onto the field, wielding its dark sword and shield. Its armor appeared old and rusty, and it clanked together while the knight's red scarf fluttered in a mysterious breeze.

_A DARK monster? Malcolm's always been about the LIGHT monsters in the past,_ Matt thought to himself. _Is this what he meant with changing his deck?_

"Now with my Armageddon Knight's ability," Malcolm continued, "I can send 1 DARK monster from my Deck to the Graveyard the moment he's Summoned to the field. So I think I'll toss another Armageddon Knight into the Graveyard."

The knight then opened a vortex in the ground, and another copy of its card was sent into the vortex from Malcolm's Deck. The vortex was then closed and disappeared.

"Next I'll Special Summon Dark Grepher (4/1700/1600) to my field by discarding 1 Level 5 or higher DARK monster from my hand," Malcolm continued, bringing forth another warrior of shadows.

This warrior was garbed in sinister armor and smiled wickedly amidst his red eyes and white hair. He wielded a great broadsword in one hand with ease.

"I'm not done yet though," Malcolm said. "I'll use Dark Grepher's ability to discard another DARK monster in order to send 1 DARK monster from my Deck to my Graveyard."

_He's sending a lot of monsters into his Graveyard,_ Matt noted to himself. _Right now, that means he has 4 DARK monsters in his Graveyard once Dark Grepher's ability goes through. What's his plan?_

"Now I'll send the Dark Elf (4/2000/800) in my hand to the Graveyard to send another Dark Elf from my Deck to the Graveyard," Malcolm continued, prompting Grepher to wield his broadsword and strike through the two elves, sending them plunging into another vortex.

"With four DARK monsters in my Graveyard, I can now send Dark Nepthys (8/2400/1600) from my hand to the Graveyard as well, provided I remove Armageddon Knight and a Dark Elf first!" Malcolm continued, banishing the two monsters from his Graveyard and sending the black phoenix to his grave. "With all of that said and done, I Set one last card to end my turn."

"Hope you liked playing solitaire, cause now it's my turn!" Matt said drawing his next card. "I'll just Set 1 monster and 1 face-down on the field to end my turn."

"As to be expected," Malcolm smirked drawing his next card. "You've nothing to defend yourself against my assault, and now the power of my monster will prove it! I summon Dark Nepthys from the Graveyard!"

A pillar of black flames burst forth from behind Malcolm, summoning forth the black phoenix from another vortex. The phoenix crowed loudly as its wings spread out to unleash its hellfire feathers on the field.

"As I've demonstrated, my Dark Nephthys has the ability to send itself to the Graveyard if I have 3 or more DARK monsters in it, simply by removing 2 of those monsters from play," Malcolm explained. "Then during the next Standby Phase, it Special Summons itself from the Graveyard again, and when that happens I can destroy a Spell or Trap card on the field, such as your face-down card!"

The phoenix then flapped its wings, raining hellfire down upon Matt's face-down card! The card was destroyed without any hesitation in the flames!

"And now that that's taken care of, I'll attack your face-down monster with my Armageddon Knight!" Malcolm declared.

The knight brandished its sword and lunged forth, preparing to strike down upon Matt's monster! The monster flipped up to reveal a small pink dragonic creature, one that was swiftly decimated by the knight's attack.

"Seems you've fallen for my real trap," Matt said smiling. "My Kodomo Dragon (3/100/200) was my real strategy, and now that it's been sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon a Dragon-Type monster from my hand. So now, I summon forth the might Tyrant Dragon (8/2900/2500) to protect my life points!"

With that said, a large bronze-scaled dragon appeared behind Matt, roaring triumphantly as it arrived onto the field in all of its glory. It spread out its mighty wings, forcing back Malcolm's monsters, but Malcolm merely smirked.

"I should have known you had a backup plan of some kind," Malcolm said. "But you shouldn't forget, I've faced you many times in the past! And now I'm ready for your tricks! I activate my face-down card, Dark Mambele!"

From the spell came forth a curved dagger imbued with dark energy!

"When I have 3 DARK Monsters on my field, I can use this Spell card to remove from play any card on the field," Malcolm explained, "and I think your Tyrant Dragon will make the perfect choice for my spell!"

The dark dagger boomeranged about the Tyrant Dragon, creating another dark vortex and engulfing the dragon in a dark tornado! When the tornado dissipated, Tyrant Dragon was gone.

"Looks like that will end my turn," Malcolm said. "And now you're short one powerful dragon."

"You should remember, my deck's full of powerful dragons," Matt said, drawing his next card. "And it's full of powerful magic cards too, like Pot of Greed which lets me draw 2 cards!"

A green grinning pot appeared, allowing for Matt to draw two cards from his deck. Just as he did so, one of the cards flashed before him!

"Looks like I drew my Quickdraw Opportunity! magic card as well!" Matt said. "And since I drew the card from my deck with the Pot of Greed, I can activate it and draw 2 more cards from my deck."

"Resourceful as ever I see," Malcolm grimaced as Matt drew another two cards.

"If there's one thing I can count on, it's my deck," Matt said. "And it has come through for me again! I summon the Blizzard Dragon (4/1800/1000) to the field in Attack mode!"

An icy blue dragon appeared on Matt's field, its serpentine tail swishing this way and that. It extended its wings and roared out onto the field.

"And now I use the special ability of my Blizzard Dragon," Matt continued. "Go, freeze his Dark Nepthys!"

The blue dragon then breathed out a mighty blizzard, freezing Dark Nepthys in place!

"With Blizzard Dragon's ability, I'm able to prevent your monster from switching battle positions or attacking until the end of your next turn," Matt explained. "Speaking of attacking, it's time to take out that Armageddon Knight!"

The dragon then fired off an ice ball over at the shadow knight, knocking it over and piercing it through with a powerful icicle. Some residual shards scattered about and hit Malcolm for the damage.

Malcolm: 3600  
Matt: 4000

"I'll be sure to pay you back double for that," Malcolm scowled.

"Go ahead and give it your best shot," Matt replied, setting two cards on the field.

"You'll regret those words," Malcolm retorted, drawing his next card. "Now you will feel my wrath! I Tribute my Dark Nepthys and Dark Grepher in order to summon the Darklord Zerato (8/2800/2300)!"

The two shadow creatures then merged in a sacrificial flame that merged itself together into a large flame. From this flame expanded two blood-red wings, revealing amongst them the darkened form of a corrupted angel. It brought out a devilish blade as it rose up above the field.

"Now I will use Darklord Zerato's power to send a DARK monster from my hand to the Graveyard to wipe out your monsters!" Malcolm continued, powering the wicked blade of his new creature.

The angel then raised its sword into the air and brought it down, unleashing a dark lightning onto Matt's Blizzard Dragon, destroying it in an instant!

"Now go, Darklord Zerato! Claim his Life Points in Lord Montalban's name!" Malcolm declared triumphantly, prompting the angel to dive down at Matt and swing its blade across him, damaging his Life Points!

Malcolm: 3600  
Matt: 1200

"I end my turn with that," Malcolm said, a statement which then caused the angel to explode with dark energy. "Unfortunately that does mean my Darklord Zerato, having used his effect, will be wiped out at the end of my turn, but I think it was worth it to bring your Life Points down a peg."

"Really now? Seems to me you've opened up the path for my victory," Matt taunted, drawing his next card.

"I have more than enough Life Points and more than enough cards in my deck to take you down," Malcolm said. "Already I look forward to bringing your corpse to Montalban's front door."

"Trust me, I have a cleaner way of going about that," Matt responded. "But enough of this. I summon Decoy Dragon (2/300/200) in Attack mode!"

A diminutive teal dragon appeared on Matt's field, its eyes shining brightly as it growled adorably. Malcolm wasn't as amused, growling, "You dare to mock me with that imp of a dragon?!"

"I don't just dare to mock, I dare to attack as well!" Matt retorted. "Go, Decoy Dragon! Attack Malcolm directly!"

The dragon lunged forth and bit Malcolm on the arm, only to be shrugged off in retaliation by the latter.

Malcolm: 3300  
Matt: 1200

"And now for something real clever," Matt continued. "I activate my face-down Dragon's Gunfire, along with my Burial from a Different Dimension and my other face-down Emergency Provisions!"

Both of the cards revealed themselves, one of a dragon shooting a fireball while the other a small set of rations. Another card joined the two on the field, upon which was a strange ornate coffin being sucked into a vortex of its own.

"Since I chained Emergency Provisions last, it resolves its effect first," Matt explained, "and with it I can send my Dragon's Gunfire and Burial from a Different Dimension to the Graveyard to gain 2000 Life Points."

Malcolm: 3300  
Matt: 3200

"Next my Burial from a Different Dimension puts Tyrant Dragon back into my Graveyard," Matt continued. "And finally thanks to Dragon's Gunfire's effect, I inflict 800 damage to your Life Points if I control a Dragon-type monster on my field!"

With that said, Matt unleashed a mighty fireball at Malcolm that sunk his Life Points even further.

Malcolm: 2500  
Matt: 3200

"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn," Matt said.

"Well then, I'll make sure you regret it," Malcolm said, drawing his next card. He looked at it and continued, "I activate the Allure of Darkness card I just drew, allowing me to draw 2 more cards from my deck."

After he did as such, Malcolm looked at his two new cards. Then he continued, "Now as per the effect of Allure of Darkness, I have to remove 1 DARK monster that I just drew from play or else I forfeit my present hand. Fortunately, I drew into my Dark Horus (8/3000/1800), so I'll remove it from the game."

Another vortex opened up into which the card flew into. Matt watched as this card flew into the portal before he looked up at Malcolm and said, "Tell me something Malcolm."

This caught Malcolm's attention as he paused and let Matt continue, "You used to duel with LIGHT monsters, and your tactics used to rely on keeping those monsters on the field. Now you've reversed those maneuvers into sending them to the Graveyard. Is this all apart of your reformed self? The one who appeared because of his hatred for me?"

Malcolm was stunned at this turnabout in Matt's personality and at his remark. Then he seethed and clenched his fist saying, "It damn well is."

Matt now paused as he looked on at Malcolm, who in turn continued his speech, "I used to believe in justice being the one true path to happiness. Certainly one had to sacrifice some of their freedoms for such happiness, but was it not worth it? Was it not fair that such happiness be available at the cost of so little? I asked myself that question every day for those four years I pursued you. You, the one person who defied the laws of justice in favor of those freedoms you would have lost."

Malcolm looked up and directly into Matt's eyes. "You remember what you first told me in our first encounter when I asked that question of you? Why you fought for these freedoms when justice could bring about that happiness?" he asked. Matt looked on and nodded.

"True freedom is the key to happiness," he answered.

"That's right," Malcolm nodded. "True freedom. And yet what did that mean to me, the one who obeyed the laws of justice, who believed in truth and order, that the authority to make men see the light would be enough to lure them to the promise of freedom within justice. And yet there you stood, ready to defy me.

"I couldn't understand for all that time why you had chosen such a path for yourself, and it drove me to pursue you. Perhaps it was to find out what you meant by true freedom or perhaps to show you what freedom under justice was like. To prove you right or to prove you wrong. I though I had to find you and bring you in to find out. And yet you eluded my grasp for four years until I couldn't follow you any further. And that's when I fell into despair.

"Never knowing whether or not to believe in such freedom or to recklessly pursue its answer, I wallowed in self-loathing for letting you escape my grasp. I was forced to retire from my position with Montalban Corp. in disgrace and ended up here in this secret part of Tortuga. Here I found the corrupted underbelly of the world, and here I lived for the past two years, integrating myself into the darkness until I became one with it.

"And now here I am before you again, seeking the answer to that true freedom you spoke of so long ago. Have I found it? Will you tell me if I've found it? Or will you taunt me further? I care not anymore for such an answer now. My only desire now is to take my revenge upon you for leaving me here!

"And it all starts with this card! Because I have Armageddon Knight, Dark Elf, Dark Nepthys, Dark Grepher, and Darklord Zerato in my Graveyard and no monsters on my field, I'm allowed to Special Summon The Dark Creator (8/2300/3000) from my hand!"

With that, five orbs of dark light appeared and circled about each other, creating a vortex from which arose a large black mechanical humanoid that stood mightily over the battlefield. It opened a pair of mechanical wings on its back as it charged an orb of dark energy in front of itself.

"Now then," Malcolm said, "with The Dark Creator on my field, I can remove 1 of my DARK monsters from the Graveyard such as my Dark Elf in order to bring back another DARK monster from my Graveyard! So welcome back the Darklord Zerato!"

The creator then plunged its hands into the dark energy sphere, coating them with dark energy. It reached down into two separate vortexes, bringing the Dark Elf out of one and destroying it while bringing back the Darklord Zerato from the other.

"Now go, Darklord Zerato! Attack the Decoy Dragon!" Malcolm declared, sending forth his resurrected angel to battle the teeny dragon.

The angel lunged forth with its sword ready to strike when suddenly the smaller dragon was enveloped in flames!

"What's going on?" Malcolm asked aloud.

"I'm afraid you've activated Decoy Dragon's special ability," Matt replied. "When it's attacked, I'm allowed to bring back a Level 7 or higher Dragon-type monster from my Graveyard and make it the new attack target. And of course the only monster that qualifies is my Tyrant Dragon!"

Out of the flames appeared the mighty bronze dragon from before, which roared and intercepted the angel's strike! It then fired off a mighty fireball that consumed the angel and damaged Malcolm's Life Points even more!

Malcolm: 2400  
Matt: 3200

Malcolm growled. "You think you're so clever," he sneered, but then something caught his eye: Matt had activated one of his face-down cards.

"You activated another Trap?" he gasped.

"That's right," Matt said. "Because of Tyrant Dragon's own ability, I had to sacrifice my Decoy Dragon to properly Special Summon it back to my field, thus leaving me with no choice but to use my Call of the Haunted to bring back Decoy Dragon to the field."

The teal dragon hiccuped a little as a puff of smoke left its nostrils. It giggled cutely to itself as Malcolm looked at this bizarre move.

_Why would he bring it back? He doesn't have any other Level 7 or higher Dragons in his Graveyard to use its ability with,_ he thought to himself. _Could it be he has another trap ready and waiting for my attack? Or perhaps he brought it back for another purpose! Whatever it is, I don't have much choice._

"I won't let you keep that dragon on the field to taunt me further!" Malcolm declared. "Go, Dark Creator! Eliminate that dragon once and for all!"

The mighty humanoid then charged up another sphere of dark energy in preparation for its attack! But then-

"I activate my trap card, Parlay!" Matt declared.

"Parlay! ?!" Malcolm yelped.

"I'm sure you remember this card from our duels," Matt said. "It negates your monster's attack and allows me to give control of one of my monsters over to you. Now that dragon you were going to attack has joined up with you!"

The dark energy sphere dissipated as the teeny dragon flew over to Malcolm's field.

"You can't be serious!" Malcolm yelled, shocked at this turn of events.

"No, I can't," Matt smiled, drawing his next card. "Just only when I win. Go, Tyrant Dragon! Attack the Dark Creator!"

The bronze dragon then fired off another powerful fireball at the humanoid, destroying it in a blaze of glory as Malcolm's Life Points dropped!

Malcolm: 1800  
Matt: 3200

"And as per Tyrant Dragon's special ability, when you have another monster on your field after its first attack, I can strike again!" Matt continued. "Now go, finish him off!"

And so another fireball descended upon the tiny dragon, wiping out the rest of Malcolm's Life Points!

Malcolm: 0  
Matt: 3200

Malcolm dropped down onto the ground and stared, unable to take the sting of defeat again. "I've lost to you again," he muttered to himself. "Will I never be free of this curse?"

Matt decided that now was a good time to break off the handcuff attached to him still, and so he bashed it against the nearby table until it snapped off. He walked up to a sniveling Malcolm and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Now that I've defeated you, it's time for you to join my crew," Matt said.

Malcolm looked up in confusion. "What could I gain from being in your crew?" he asked bitterly, spitting down at the ground to emphasize his disgust.

Matt simply smiled. "You want to get back with Montalban, right?" he asked. "Then you'll have to join my crew to find out how."

Malcolm grimaced visibly before finally he vomited on the floor away from Matt. Matt reeled back from this quickly and wiped his hand on a nearby tablecloth. Just as he was finishing up, the door to the room swung open as Andrew and Joey barged in.

"There you are!" Andrew said. "We've been quelling folks left and right looking for you!"

"And dat wasn't easy," Joey commented, looking behind through the door to the hall where several drunk and weary patrons now lay in a heap.

Matt turned to the new entrants and winced. "I didn't expect you'd run into me so soon," he said.

"Believe me, you've got a lot of explaining to do," Andrew said as he approached his brother. He caught sight of the weary Malcolm before taking note of Matt's Duel Disk. "Were you just dueling the locals for entertainment? Seriously, they're not much of a challenge when they're drunk."

"Never mind that," Matt said. "What are you all doing here?"

"Well after I broke your girlfriend out of jail, I thought I'd come see if my hunch was correct and that you'd end up here," Andrew replied, digging around in his ear with his pinky.

"My girlfriend?" Matt wondered for a moment before he realized who Andrew was talking about. "Shannon..."

"Yeah, she's not too pleased about being in my care for the past few months," Andrew continued as he flicked off a bit of earwax. "Regardless, I came here for one reason only: I need Slifer the Sky Dragon back from you now."

Matt looked at Andrew as Malcolm began to pay attention to their conversation. "And what could you have that I would want to trade Slifer for?" Matt asked.

"Well for starters, there's Shannon," Andrew began. "Then there's these papers she snagged from Montalban at some point, something about terms of employment or something - I told her you'd have no interest in such a thing-"

"-and I don't," Matt interjected.

"And beyond that...well, I guess that's really about it," Andrew shrugged.

"In that case, the answer's no," Matt said, brushing him aside as he walked to the door.

"Will you at least tell me why?" Andrew asked.

Matt looked over his shoulder and simply replied, "Because I'm not done using it yet." Then he continued out the door.

"Not doing using...THAT'S NO EXCUSE!" Andrew yelled out, pursuing his brother alongside Joey, leaving Malcolm to watch them all leave.

_He has Slifer the Sky Dragon too? And those letters..._ Malcolm smiled to himself a wicked grin. _Perhaps it's in my best interest to join Captain Matt Zero's crew._

He chuckled to himself before feeling the urge again to vomit and proceeding to do so on the ground. _...but first I'll clean up and then find him..._

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Yes, that is actually Haitian they are speaking...according to the internet. HEY LOOK CARDS

**Armageddon Knight** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1400 Atk, 1200 Def, Warrior, DARK  
Effect: When this card is Summoned, send 1 DARK monster from your Deck to your Graveyard.

**Dark Grepher** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1700 Atk, 1600 Def, Warrior, DARK  
Effect: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by discarding 1 Level 5 or higher DARK Monster. Once per turn: you can discard 1 DARK monster; send 1 DARK monster from your Deck to the Graveyard.

**Dark Elf** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 2000 Atk, 800 Def, Spellcaster, DARK  
Effect: You must pay 1000 LP in order to attack with this card.

**Dark Nepthys** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 2400 Atk, 1600 Def, Winged Beast, DARK  
Effect: If you have 3 or more DARK monsters in your Graveyard, and this card is in your hand: you can banish 2 of them and send this card to the Graveyard. During your next Standby Phase after this card was sent to the Graveyard by this effect, Special Summon this card from your Graveyard. When this card is Special Summoned: Target 1 Spell/Trap card on the field; destroy that target.

**Kodomo Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 3, 100 Atk, 200 Def, Dragon, EARTH  
Effect: If this card is sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 Dragon-type monster from your hand. You cannot Special Summon monsters other than Dragon-type monsters or conduct your Battle Phase the turn you activate this effect. You can only use the effect of "Kodomo Dragon" once per turn.

**Tyrant Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 2900 Atk, 2500 Def, Dragon, FIRE  
Effect: During your Battle Phase, if your opponent controls a monster after this card's first attack, this card can attack once again. Negate the effect of any Trap card that targets this card and destroy it. If this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard by a card effect, you must Tribute 1 Dragon-Type monster.

**Dark Mambele** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: If you control 3 or more DARK monsters, banish 1 card on the field.

**Pot of Greed** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Draw 2 cards.

**Quickdraw Opportunity!** (Quick-play Spell card)  
Effect: Draw 1 card. When you draw this card by a card effect, you can activate it and draw 2 cards instead.

**Blizzard Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 4, 1800 Atk, 1000 Def, Dragon, WATER  
Effect: Once per turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; it cannot change its battle position or declare an attack until the opponent's next End Phase.

**Darklord Zerato** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 2800 Atk, 2300 Def, Fairy, DARK  
Effect: If you have 4 or more DARK monsters with different names in your Graveyard, you can Tribute Summon this card by Tributing 1 DARK monster. You can send 1 DARK monster from your hand to the Graveyard; destroy all monsters your opponent controls. During the End Phase, if this card activated this effect this turn: destroy this card.

**Decoy Dragon** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 2, 300 Atk, 200 Def, Dragon, FIRE  
Effect: When this card is selected as an attack target by your opponent's monster, select 1 Level 7 or higher Dragon-type monster from your Graveyard, Special Summon it, and switch the attack target to that monster.

**Dragon's Gunfire** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Activate only if you control a face-up Dragon-type monster. Activate one of the following effects:  
-Inflict 800 damage to your opponent.  
-Destroy 1 monster on the field with 800 or less Def points.

**Burial from a Different Dimension** (Quick-play Spell card)  
Effect: Select up to 3 banished monsters and return them to their owner's Graveyards.

**Emergency Provisions** (Quick-play Spell card)  
Effect: Send any number of your Spell and Trap cards to the Graveyard. You gain 1000 Life Points for each card sent this way.

**Allure of Darkness** (Normal Spell card)  
Effect: Draw 2 cards, then banish 1 DARK monster from your hand. If you cannot, send your hand to the Graveyard.

**Dark Horus** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 3000 Atk, 1800 Def, Dragon, DARK  
Effect: Once per turn, after resolving a Spell card that was activated during your opponent's Main Phase: you can target 1 Level 4 DARK monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target. This card must be face-up on the field to activate and resolve this effect.

**The Dark Creator** (Effect Monster card)  
Level 8, 2300 Atk, 3000 Def, Thunder, DARK  
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by having 5 or more DARK monsters in your Graveyard while you control no monsters. Once per turn, you can banish 1 DARK monster from your Graveyard to target 1 DARK monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it.

**Parlay!** (Normal Trap card)  
Effect: During your opponent's Battle Phase, when an opposing monster attacks, negate that attack. Then select 1 monster you control; give control of that monster to your opponent.

It looks like Matt's crew is ready to set sail! But are they ready to face the dangers that await them? And whatever happened to Creighton anyway? We'll find out in the next chapter!


End file.
